JPNB71 The Politics of Japan

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Ing. Ivo Plšek, M.A., M. P. P., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jiří Matela, M.A., Ph.D.
Department of Japanese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Ing. Ivo Plšek, M.A., M. P. P., Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Japanese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
English comprehension.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 80 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 2/80, only registered: 0/80, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/80
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 48 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course will cover the politics and political system of Japan under the 1947 Constitution, which is still operative, together with a brief introduction to the political system under the Meiji Constitution of 1889, the two systems being very different from each other.

The Allied (largely American) occupation of Japan between 1945 and 1952 will be covered, and the extent of its impact on politics from the 1950s onwards. The extent of continuity with the pre-war system will also be explored. The important political figure of Prime Minister YOSHIDA will be covered.

The ‘1955 political system’, whereby politics was dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will be analysed, as well as reasons for the relative weakness of opposition parties. The electoral system and its interaction with indigenous modes of social interaction will be analysed, as will the ‘economic miracle’ from the 1950s to 1990, whereby the Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) became the second largest in the world. When the economic boom ended in 1990, Japanese politics went through a transition period during the 1990s, leading to the establishment of coalition governments as a political norm, but with the LDP still the dominant party. The crucial role of the government bureaucracy and of major business interests will also be explored.

With the new millennium the impact of the reformist politician KOIZUMI (Prime Minister 2001-2006) will be discussed, together with the decline of LDP internal factions and the salience of the post office privatisation issue. It will be shown that political dynamism declined after the resignation of KOIZUMI, leading to the electoral victory of the main opposition Democratic Party in 2009, running on a social welfare programme. The reasons for the relative failure of this government will be explored. The Democratic Party Government was faced with a crisis of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in March 2011, but also suffered from internal rivalries, inexperience and financial difficulties. What has been called the 2012 Political System that followed that government will be analysed – a system characterised once again by LDP dominance, but with a weakened factional system and negligible intra-party opposition to the leadership of the right wing Prime Minister ABE, who has been in power continuously since 2012.

Japanese foreign policies from YOSHIDA to ABE will be explored, especially relations with the United States, China, Russia and the two Koreas. Finally we shall attempt a comparison between politics in Japan and politics in Europe and elsewhere, as well as the impact of Japanese social norms and practice on political behaviour. The course will end with a question: “How democratic is Japan?”
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the character of the Japanese political system under the Constitution of 1947, written under American influence during the Allied Occupation of Japan between 1945 and the San Francisco Peace Treaty that came into force in 1952. In addition, they will have some understanding of politics under the Meiji Constitution of 1889 and factors that led to war between 1937 and 1945.

Students will also comprehend the character of political activity in Japan, as well as the reasons behind the dominance of a single political party in the politics of Japan. They will know how the electoral system works in practice and what revisions have been made to it, particularly in the 1990s. They will understand the importance of an anti-war discourse within the electorate, as well as the social and political effects of rapid economic growth, leading to Japan achieving the status of the world’s second largest economy in GDP terms (though it has now been pushed into third place by China). They will have an understanding of Japanese foreign and defense policies, from the ‘Yoshida doctrine’ of the early 1950s to the forward defense policies of Prime Minister ABE in the 2010s. They will have an understanding of human rights issues and issues of gender equality in Japan.

Finally, they will have been given an overview of the development of Japanese foreign and defence policy from YOSHIDA to ABE, as well as appreciating the interaction between Japanese politics and Japanese society. They will have examined the question: “How democratic is Japan?”
Syllabus
  • Lecture 1: Pre-war politics and a mixed political system under the Meiji Constitution of 1889.
  • Lecture 2: Occupation reforms and Japanese reactions: The 1947 Constitution, the National Diet, local politics, business groups, labour unions, education reform, the national bureaucracy, agricultural reform, reform of the police and the judiciary.
  • Lecture 3: The ‘1955 Political System’, its dynamics and evolution: single party dominance and problems of opposition, impact of the electoral system; habatsu, kōenkai, zoku.
  • Lecture 4: Collapse of the economic ‘bubble’ around 1990, and the politics of system-transition in the 1990s. The impact of political corruption, and of external pressure for a greater Japanese defence role.
  • Lecture 5: A strengthened executive as a condition for Koizumi’s neo-liberal reforms 2001-2006, followed by leadership uncertainty: the problem of ‘twisted Diets’.
  • Lecture 6: The Opposition in power, September 2009 to December 2012: welfare politics and slant towards Asia; why was the DPJ Government not more successful?
  • Lecture 7: The ‘2012 political system’ (1): The Abe decade and right-wing revisionism; foreign policy.
  • Lecture 8: The ‘2012 Political System’ (2): Domestic political issues in the 2010s: cultural policy, women and minorities, education policy, environment, industrial policy, population policy, media.
  • Lecture 9: Japanese foreign and defence policies from Yoshida to Abe: current relations between Japan and China, Japan and Russia, Japan and the two Koreas: issues of US bases on Okinawa.
  • Lecture 10: What does Japanese politics suggest to us about politics in Europe and elsewhere? What does Japanese politics tell us about Japan and Japanese society? How democratic is Japan?
Literature
  • Critical issues in contemporary Japan. Edited by Jeff Kingston. Second edition. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2019, xix, 319. ISBN 9780815352051. info
  • Critical issues in contemporary Japan. Edited by Jeff Kingston. First published. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014, xv, 309. ISBN 9780415857451. info
  • STOCKWIN, J. A. A. Governing Japan : divided politics in a resurgent economy. Fourth edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2008, xvi, 298. ISBN 9781405154161. info
  • The left in the shaping of Japanese democracy : essays in honour of J.A.A. Stockwin. Edited by J. A. A. Stockwin - Rikki Kersten - David Williams. New York, NY: Routledge, 2005, xviii, 183. ISBN 0415334357. info
  • STOCKWIN, J. A. A. Dictionary of the modern politics of Japan. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2003, xxxvii, 29. ISBN 0415151708. info
  • NEARY, Ian. The state and politics in Japan. 1st pub. Cambridge: Blackwell, 2002, xxv, 236. ISBN 0745621341. info
Teaching methods
Mainly lectures.
Assessment methods
Multiple choice test (abcd) with one correct answer. The test will include all topics covered throughout the course and will be administered at its end.

The final grading scale is as follows: A 100% -90% B 89% - 80% C 79 - 75% D 74% - 70% E 69% - 65% F 64% - 0%%
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught: in blocks.
Teacher's information
https://www.area-studies.ox.ac.uk/people/prof.-arthur-stockwin
STUDENTS TAKE NOTICE:

This course is an intensive one-week class on Japanese politics taught by professor Arthur Stockwin of Oxford University. Professor Stockwin is the former director of the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies (Oxford University) and one of the most prominent scholars of Japan in Britain and the larger world community.

He will be mainly responsible for the content of the lectures while I will take care of administrative and other issues related to the course (including the exam).

Dates of lectures:

23rd Sep. 2019 (Monday); 10.00 - 11.45 in B 2.43

24th Sep. 2019 (Tuesday); 8.00 - 11.45 in B 2.43

25th Sep. 2019 (Wednesday); 10.00 - 11.45 in B 2.43

26th Sep. 2019 (Thursday); 8.00 - 11.45 in B 2.43

27th Sep. 2019 (Friday); 8.00 - 11.45 in D21

30th Sep. 2019 (Monday); 8.00 - 11.45 in B 2.43

Double-lectures on Tuesday, Wednesday Friday and Monday might end earlier than 11.45.

This class is a replacement for Jap225, which will not be offered this semester.

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