PSC 2374 Final Prep

Privy Council

• Established in 1888 as lifetime appointees of the emperor with the purpose of advising the emperor

• Negative for democratic development, as the council advises the Emperor but is not explicitly responsible to the Diet

Ito Hirobumi

• Drafter of the Meiji Constitution, Choshu leader, first prime minister of Japan in 1885

• Traveled to Europe to learn about different governments and constitutions. He saw the Prussian system as the right model for Japan

• Favored the idea of imperial antiquity and divinity, wanting to protect the imperial institution from popular radicalism. Believer in imperial divinity

House of Peers

• Established in 1884 as the upper house of the Imperial Diet

• Composed of members of the Imperial Family, nobility, and those who had been nominated by the Emperor

• Members were not elected by the people

House of Councillors

• Established as the upper house in the Diet with the post-war constitution, replaced the House of Peers

• Popularly elected, but supposed to be experts

• Democratic upper chamber, term limit of six years, half elected every three years

• Source of controversy, some in favor of constitutional revision want to eliminate the House of Councilors because just the House of Representatives is enough

Article 9 of the Postwar Constitution

• Initially added to the postwar constitution to ensure Japan would never be a threat again by forbidding war

• Ashida Hitoshi revised the article to give Japan the right to self-defense under certain circumstances, which has been interpreted differently over time

• Article 9 has been a source of national debate, as some politicians and people seek to revise Article 9 because it is vague

• There is robust public support for Article 9, as it is seen as a symbol of Japan as a peace state. Changing it would undermine Japan’s national identity

Article 96 of the Postwar Constitution

• The article stating the necessary conditions needed for constitutional amendment

• Currently, a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors is necessary for the initiation of constitutional amendment. Then it will be submitted to the people for ratification as a referendum, which requires a majority vote

• Article 96 has been a source of debate as it is currently very difficult to amend Japan’s constitution

July 2014 Reinterpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution

• This reinterpretation allows Japan the right of collective self-defense in some instances and to engage in military action of one of its allies were to be attacked. This provided three new conditions for the use of force

  1. An armed attack against Japan has occurred or an armed attack against a foreign country that threatens Japan’s survival and poses a clear danger to fundamentally overturn people’s rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

  2. When there is no other means available to repel the attack and ensure Japan’s survival and potect its people

  3. The use of force is limited to the minimum extent necessary

Right of Individual Self-Defense and Collective Self-Defense

• Individual self-defense gives a state the right to protect itself if it is attacked

• Collective self-defense permits a state to intervene on behalf of another state if that state has been subject to an unlawful attack

• Original Japanese interpretation of Article 9 only allowed for individual self-defense, 2014 reinterpretation allows for collective self-defense under certain circumstances

Amakudari

• “Descent from Heaven,” refers to the process in which bureaucrats retire by accepting employment their ministry arranges outside the civil service. This ay be in the corporate sector or a quasi governmental institution

• Has led to controversy, as many top officials in firms are bureaucrats who have little experience in the field

• There have been goals to eliminate or strictly regulate amakudari by making it illegal for there to be a direct communication with the target entity for retirement. However, this has just made the process more difficult

Administrative Reform

• The primary goal is to give the government more control over the bureaucracy

• Other goals

  • Reduce wasteful public expenditures

  • Improve efficiency

  • Address and prevent policy failures and bureaucratic corruption

  • Enhance coordination across agencies

  • Develop more coherent national strategies

  • Develop policies that service the national/public interest

  • Make public policy more responsive to the public will

  • Promote domestic and International liberalization of the economy

• Methods to promote administrative reform

  • Increase cabinet control over the bureaucracy and personnel appointments

  • Eliminate or strictly regulate amakudari

  • Revise/get rid of the career system

  • Increase transparency of decision making and policy implementation

  • Strengthen public accountability of bureaucracy and Diet oversight

  • Increase political control over bureaucratic personnel decisions

  • Enhance the legislative and policy making capabilities of elected politicians and political parties

1955 System

• Postwar party system from 1955-1993 with the LDP as the dominant party

• The LDP successfully held a majority government by itself uninterrupted until 1993

Medium-Sized District System

• Japan’s electoral system from 1947-1993 in which Japan was split into medium-sized election district based on population with three to five seats each

• Voters could only vote for one candidate and the top candidate with the most votes got the seat

• If a party wanted a majority, they needed to run multiple candidates in each district

1994 Election System Reform

• In 1994 the LDP lost its single party majority, leading all the opposition parties to form a coalition and reform the electoral system

• The goals were to create a two-party system, reduce the cost of elections and levels of corruption, and create party centered campaigns

• The electoral system was switched to 300 single-member districts elected by FPTP and 200 seats in 11 regional blocks elected by proportional representation

• A voter casts 2 ballots: one for a candidate in the single-member district and one for a party in the proportional representation district

Malapportionment

• Drawing the boundaries of legislative districts so they are unequal in population

• In Japan there was a population shift from rural to urban. However, the LDP refused to rpoperly reapportion the lower house

• Because of malapportionment, rural votes counted more than urban votes. This was one of the factors leading to LDP predominance

Koenkai (Support Organizations)

• Personal support organizations of LDP politicians, which centered on individual politicians rather than a political party

• LDP members needed to distinguish themselves from other LDP candidates

• Koenkai created a social network where voters had the opportunity to interact with the candidate on a personal level. They tried to develop personal networks and create strong ties with specific groups and companies in order to build their own solid voting base, rather than appealing to a broader base of voters

• Koenkai formed the core of electoral constituencies for LDP politicians

Komeito

• Also known as the Clean Government Party, formed as a mass religious organization

• Formed a coalition with the LDP in 1999, as the LDP wanted the Komeito to mobilize its urban voters to vote for the LDP. The coalition lasted from 1999-2009 and 2012-present

Bubble Economy

• A period from 1986 to 1991 in which real estate and stock market prices were greatly inflated

• In 1996, the US encouraged Japan to increase the value of the yen due to a trade deficit with the US. Japanese authorities were worried the increase would stop growth. In response, Japan adopted a loose monetary policy, low interest rates, and encouraged people to borrow money

• There was a lot of money floating around Japan, leading people to buy high amounts of assets

• The bubble burst in 1990 when interest rates were raised, resulting in a drop in asset prices and loans people could not pay back

• Led to economic stagnation

Privatization of Postal Savings System

• Initially owned by the government

• Japanese citizens put their savings in the bank and the Japanese government used this money to mobilize the economy. By the 1990s this money was being abused for non-market purposes

• Koizumi decided privatization was necessary to avoid abuses. The bill passed the lower house, but not the upper house, so Koizumi dissolved the lower house to purge non-reformists

• Koizumi won a landslide victory and became a very popular prime minister

Consumption Tax

• A tax levies on consumption spending on goods and services

• Introduced in Japan to combat public debt, which is the highest in the world as a percentage of GDP

• Has steadily increased, raised in 1997, 2012, 2014, and 2019

• Controversial, people don’t like higher taxes

Abenomics and the Three Arrows

• Economic policies implemented by Abe to address Japan’s stagnant economy and decades-long deflation

• Monetary Policy: increase money supply, monetize public debt, end deflation, promote inflation

• Fiscal Policy: Tax reduction for corporations to promote investment, fiscal stimulus

• Structural Reform: Agricultural reform, deregulation, increased competition, privatization, womenomics

• Not successful in raising the incomes of many Japanese residents

Regular Versus Non-Regular Workers

• Regular: Permanent employees promoted based on seniority

  • Percentage is declining

  • Majority of men are regular workers

• Non-Regular: Temporary and part-time employees, don’t have employment security, irregular wages, let go during economic downturns

  • Percentage is increase

  • More youth and women

Womenomics

• Policy based on the idea that Japan can boost its economy by getting more women into the workforce

• Increase in the number of childcare facilities and childcare leave allowance

• Act Concerning the Promotion of Women’s Career Activities: Requires firms with more than 300 employees to analyze the status of women within their firms and make action plans to increase their participation

• Cap on long overtime hours, close the wage gap between standard and nonstandard workers, reform the tax code

Declining Birth Rate

• Japan’s birth rate is declining with the population peaking in 2004

• Demographic crisis, imbalance between the productive-age and elderly population. More people need social security but there are less people working to pay into the system. Rapidly aging population

• Some reasons: Less marriage, no increase in births to unmarried women due to stigma, different attitudes towards life, marriage and having children

• Deterrents: High living costs outpacing salaries, bleak job prospects, corporate cultures incompatible with dual-working parents

Yasukuni Shrine

• Shrine initially constructed after the Meiji Restoration to honor those who fought and died for the imperial cause

• Honors Japan’s war dead, including 14 Class A war criminals. Source of controversy in South Korea and China

• Some say the Yasukuni Shrine provides a revisionist narrative of WWII and makes Japan out to be the victim

• Criticism began in the 1980s when the PM went in an official matter

• Koizumi visited the shrine 6 times during his term

• Abe’s first term: Neither confirm nor deny that he would go

• Abe’s second: Went to the shrine

Okinawa’s Cornerstone of Peace

• Memorial to remember the over 240,000 people killed in the Battle of Okinawa

• Over 100,000 Okinawan civilians were killed due to the actions of enemy forces and the actions of the Japanese imperial army

Futenma Marine Corps Air Station

• United States air base in Okinawa

• The government wants to relocate the air station from a densely populated area (Ginowan), to a less populated area of Henoko district in Nago City in the North

  • Nearly 3/4s favor the relocation of the base outside the prefecture or outside of Japan and remain opposed to moving the base within the prefecture

• In August 2004, a helicopter from Futenma Air Station crashed into the main building of Okinawa International University

• Okinawa hots a disproportionate amount of air bases compared to the rest of Japan

  • Incidents like robbery, rape, aircraft crashes, and mishaps

Official Development Assistance (ODA)

• Government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries

• Japan gives a good amount to ASEAN countries, strengthening relations

Fukuda Doctrine

• A doctrine created by Japanese leadership to emphasize Japan’s commitment to a peaceful and cooperative role in Southeast Asia. This doctrine lays the foundation for Japan’s relationship with Southeast Asia and was a turning point in relations

  1. Japan will not become a great military power again and will contribute to the peace and prosperity of Southeast Asia

  2. Japan will seek a heart-to-heart relationship with Southeast Asia in political, economic, social, and cultural areas

  3. Japan will treat Southeast Asia as equals and will cooperate positively with them while contributing to the building of peace and prosperity

APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)

• The first region wide economic forum, made up of 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region

• Ensures goods, services, investment, and people move easily across borders

• Faster customs procedures at borders, more favorable business climates behind the border, and aligning regulations and standards across the region

Asian Development Bank

• Regional development bank to promote Southeast Asian development

• Japanese PM Kishi first raised the idea in 1957. The US resisted because of fears this would weaken World Bank/IMF-centered order

• Created in 1966 as a Japanese led bank and much of the capital coming from Japan

• Concerns in Southeast Asia that the creation of the bank would lead to Japanese domination, headquarters established in Manila instead of Tokyo

• President and a lot of personnel come from Tokyo

• 68 member countries with a capital base of $163 billion

East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997

• Financial crisis that greatly hurt the economies of East and Southeast Asia, plunging the countries affected into deep recessions that brought rising unemployment, poverty, and social dislocation

• Japan had greatly invested in Southeast Asia and exported a lot to the region. With the crisis, Japan lost a lot of money during a time its economy was already struggling due to the bursting of the bubble

Asian Monetary Fund

• An idea put forward by the Japanese government during the 1997 East Asian Financial Crisis for an institution to work towards setting up a regional network funded by Asian countries to overcome current and future economic crisis

• Sharp disagreement between Japan and the US because the US Treasury was not consulted and did not approve

Chiang Mai Initiative

• The first regional currency swap arrangement launched by the ASEAN+3 countries in May 2000 at an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank

• Started to manage regional short-term liquidity problems and to avoid relying on the International Monetary Fund

• Draws from a foreign exchange reserves pool worth US $120 billion

East Asian Community

• A proposed trade bloc for the East and Southeast Asian countries that may arise out of either ASEAN Plus Three or the East Asia Summit

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

• Free trade agreement for the region, includes ASEAN plus three plus three

• Initiated by Japan, promoted by ASEAN

• Proposed by Koizumi due to fears that China’s huge economy would dominate trade

  • Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, and the ROK as democracies would be a good counterweight to Chins

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

• Proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies

• United States joined in 2008, hijacked, and transformed this to counter RCEP

• Japan was last to join in 2013 as a reluctant participant

• Failed when Trump withdrew the US in January 2017

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TPP (CPTPP)

• Trade and economic agreement, evolved from the TPP after Trump withdrew the United States

• Japan under Abe took the lead and finished the deal, took out the terms the US forced upon the partnership that none of the other countries wanted

Three Non-Nuclear Principles

• Japan’s stance in regards to nuclear weapons, enunciated by Prime Minister Sato in 1967 and adopted by the Diet in 1971

• No possession of nuclear weapons, no production/manufacturing of nuclear weapons, no introduction of nuclear weapons

• Express Japan’s commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and continue to be widely embraced by the public

• Symbolizes the nation’s status as a non-nuclear weapons state and have become part of Japan’s national identity

Nuclear Umbrella or US Extended Nuclear Deterrence

• Policy consensus in Japan to preserve the non-nuclear principles and not obtain nuclear weapons, but instead rely on US deterrence

• Japan has been under the US Nuclear Umbrella since the end of WWII, with the SDF only envisioned for protecting the homeland.

  • There is no reason for Japan to obtain nuclear weapons as the US acts as a deterrent against security threats

• Public increasingly believes the US Nuclear Umbrella is unnecessary

US-Japan Defense Cooperation Guidelines

• Guidelines for how the US and Japan should cooperate under normal circumstances, in an armed attack against Japan, and in situations in areas surrounding Japan

• Japan only has an obligation to respond if any attack occurs on Japanese territory

• To contribute to the security of Japan, the US is granted the use of land, air, and naval forces of facilities and areas in Japan

UN Peacekeeping Operations

• Missions to help countries navigate the path from conflict to peace with the goal of maintaining international peace and security

• Japan has participated in UN peackeeping operations since 1989

Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea (1965)

• Treaty establishing basic diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea

• Encouraged by the US, the US wanted Japan to normalize relations with South Korea so Japan could provide aid to the country

• Japan supplied South Korea with $300 million grant paid over 10 years

  • $30 million per year and $200 million in low-interest loans as a ‘reparation fee,’ not reparations, which is seen as problematic by South Korea

Kono Statement

• Statement made by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on August 4, 1993 after an investigation revealed the Japanese imperial army had in fact had comfort women

• First explicit apology by a high official regarding the comfort women

• Explicit mention that this was conducted generally against their will

• Statement claims the Japanese will teach about this

  • Teaching has been relatively meager

Murayama Statement

• Political statement by Prime Minister Murayama on the comfort women during the fiftieth anniversary of the war’s end

• Widely acknowledged as the clearest acknowledgement of Japan’s wartime violations

• Clear apology with a specific acknowledgement to the victims of Japan’s wartime aggression

Asian Women’s Fund

• A fund established in July 1995 at the initiative of the Murayama government to distribute monetary compensation to comfort women

• Rejected by the Korean Council because it was no legal compensation but rather private charity

  • Resulted in backlash in Japan

• 211 Filipinos, 60 Koreans, 13 Taiwanese, and 79 Dutch accepted

Japan-South Korea Agreement Regarding Comfort Women in December 2015

• Agreement announced by the foreign ministers of both countries that the issue of the comfort women between Japan and South Korea was to be resolved finally and irreversibly

• Japanese government recognized that Japanese military authorities were involved and the government was aware of the notion of state responsibility

• There would be a foundation set up in South Korea and the Japanese government would make a one-time contribution through its budget

  • Summer 2016: ROK government launch Reconciliation and Healing Foundation & Japan disbursed 1 billion yen, 34/47 women accepted funds

• South Korea promised to work towards a solution regarding the comfort women statue in front of Japan’s embassy

North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens

• Between 1977-1983, at least 17 Japanese citizens were abducted by North Korean agents on Japanese territory

• North Korea wanted native Japanese people to teach the North Korean agents the Japanese language, Japanese culture, and how to fit in Japanese society

• Some abductees were returned to Japan in October 2002 and some children of abductees left North Korea for Japan in May 2004

• Until this issue is resolved, it is unlikely Japan will pursue aid and reconciliation

Dokdo/Takeshima Dispute

• Territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea over 2 islets and 35 smaller rocks

• Issue for Koreans because it is linked to the history issue. After the annexation of Korea, Japan took control of the rocks

  • If Japan claims the rocks as Japanese, they have the wrong view of history

• Major issue in relations

• During Noda government in 2012, Japanese Defense White Paper refers to Takeshima as Japanese territory. ROK President Lee Myung-bak became the first president to visit in August 2012

Forced (Conscripted) Labor Issue

• Issue involving the over 700,000 Koreans conscripted into forced labor by Japan during WWII, about 60,000 died because of the harsh conditions

  • Not paid, payment kept in the Japanese treasury

• Japanese government claimed that all labor claims were settled by the 1965 claim settlement agreement during which Japan provided $800 million in aid & loans to South Korea.

  • View is that the South Korean government failed to uphold their end of the agreement by giving this money to companies instead of workers

• South Korea claimed the 1965 agreement does not preclude individuals’ rights to seek remedy from Japanese private companies

• After back and forth disputes, the South Korean government created the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan to compensate forced labor victims with donations from South Korean companies

Japan-People’s Republic of China Normalization Agreement of 1972

• Agreement between Japan and China to put aside their abnormal affairs and normalize a peaceful and friendly relationship

• China refrains from seeking reparations from WWII atrocities and aggressions; Japan “deeply reflects” about the past

• Japan recognizes the PRC as sole legal government of China; China accepts Japan’s non-governmental interactions with Taiwan

• Mutual sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs

  • Equality, mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence

• Peaceful settlement of disputes

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute

• Territorial dispute between Japan and China over uninhabited islands close to Okinawa

• March 2004: 7 Chinese activists from Taiwan and Hong Kong landed on the islands. Arrested by Japanese for trespassing, later deported by Koizumi government

• September 2010: Chinese fishing trawler arrested after ramming his boat into a Japanese Coast Guard boat. Japan released him after Chinese pressures

  • China claimed Japan should pay the damages, public furious

• April 2012: Governor Ishihara Shintaro proposed to have Tokyo purchase the islands, Japanese government was not protecting them

• September 2012: PM Noda had the central government purchase the islands, hoped Chinese government would not be angry

  • Anti-Japanese demonstrations in CHina

Hosokawa Morihiro

• Prime minister of Japan from August 1993-April 1994 and leader of the eight party coalition against the LDP

• First non-LDP prime minister since 1955

• Main goal of his administration was to reform the electoral system, which was done with the 1994 Electoral Reforms

Nakasone Yasuhiro

• Prime minister of Japan from 1982 to 1987

• Visited the Yasukuni Shrine with his Cabinet on August 15, 1985, the fortieth anniversary of Japan’s surrender, in full mourning dress

• First prime minister to visit in an official matter, extremely controversial, prompted backlash in China

Ishihara Shintaro

• Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012

• Proposed the Tokyo Metropolitan Government purchase 3 islands of Senkakus because the Japanese government was not protecting them

Murayama Tomiichi

• Prime minister of Japan and the leader of a three-party coalition between JSP, LDP, and New Party Sakigake from June 1994-January 1996

• Member of the JSP, offered the position of prime minister in exchange for forming a coalition with the LDP

• JSP agreed to move away from their policy of being against the self-defense force while the LDP absorbed a lot of socialist ideas regarding welfare and social policy

• Gave an official apology regarding the comfort women situation, which is widely regarded as the clearest acknowledgement of Japan’s wartime violations. He also started the Asian Women’s Fund

Koizumi Jun’ichiro

• One of the longest serving prime ministers of Japan from April 2001-September 2006

• Populist, drawn toward neoliberal policies, wanted to liberalize the economy, move towards productivity

• Wanted to privatize the Postal Savings System. When this move failed, Koizumi dissolved the lower house, called for a new election, purged non-reformists, and won a landslide victory in 2005, becoming a very popular prime minister

• The middle class loved him as he was doing something to try to revive the economy

• Only prime minister to visit North Korea

• Ran on the platform of going to the Yasukuni Shrine every year, visited 6 times between 2001-2006, causing a deterioration in relations between Japan and China and South Korea

Abe Shinzo

• Longest serving prime minister in Japanese history from 2012 to 2020, arguably the most successful prime minister in LDP history, revived the LDP

• First term was a disaster, as he moved away from Koizumi’s neoliberal ideas, reinstated those who voted against Koizumi, and was widely unpopular

• In his second term, Abe managed to retain a long tenure by winning elections, maintaining high levels of cabinet support, and preventing rivals from challenging him. However, many voted for him because they felt there was no other appropriate person

• Pursued a realistic foreign policy by strengthening relations with the US, stabilizing relations with China, promoting the TPP, and pursuing active diplomacy with ASEAN

  • Poor relations with South Korea, seen as a revisionist, refused to write apologies to comfort women

• Promoted Abenomics: monetary policy, fiscal policy, and structural reform

• Had fairly good relations with Trump due to flattery and accommodation

• Visited the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26, 2013, causing a crisis in relations

Fukuda Yasuo

• Japanese prime minister from 2007 to 2008

• Conducted ice-melting diplomacy with Chinese president Hu Jintao from 2007-2008

• Didn’t want to be prime minister, resigned after the LDP lost the majority in the House of Councillors

Ozawa Ichiro

• Greatest Japanese politician who never became prime minister

• Used to be a member of the LDP, led the Liberal Party, joined a coalition with the LDP, left the coalition. The Liberal Party then joined the DPJ in 2003

• Elected DPJ leader in 2006

• Architect of the DPJ’s winning electoral strategy, leading the party to pursue a mixed catch-all strategy. He proposed more welfare and reduction of government waste to appeal to the urban middle class while also providing support for the LDP’s traditional constituencies

• Never became prime minister as he resigned in 2009 due to a scandal he was cleared from years later

Hatoyama Yukio

• First DPJ prime minister, serving from September 2009 to June 2010

• Supporter of Ozawa, believed the party should stick to the typical party manifesto

• Abolished preliminary review and the Policy Research Council to decrease the power of bureaucrats and increase the power of the Cabinet. This made the policymaking process highly disorderly, overloaded political executives, and deprived backbenchers of opportunities to influence policymaking

Kan Naoto

• Second DPJ prime minister, serving from June 2010 to September 2011

• Mishandled the issue of the consumption tax, which is often seen as the primary cause of the DPJ losing the 2010 upper house election

• Encouraged political executives to cooperate with bureaucrats and reinstated the DPJ-PRC to improve backbenchers’ participation in policymaking. Policymaking continued to suffer from instability due to inferior leadership and internal divides

• Made controversial proposals which were half-baked and without strategy, which often fueled conflict between different policy opinions of the DPJ

• Often seen as mishandling the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Noda Yoshihiko

• Third DPJ prime minister, serving from September 2011 to December 2012

• Stressed realism and gave priority to stabilization of policy making by trying to mimic the LDP’s traditional policymaking. Bureaucrats regained their traditional strength and policymaking remained disorderly due to intra party struggles and the twisted Diet

• Criticized for his calling of the 2012 general election at a time when the public was upset with the issue of the consumption tax

• Purchased the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, causing anti-Japanese demonstrations in China

Kishida Fumio

• Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012-2017 and Prime Minister from 2021-2024

• Negotiated the 2015 comfort women agreement and put out a statement recognizing the involvement of Japanese military authorities and agreeing to set up a foundation the Japanese government would contribute to

Ishiba Shigeru

Current prime minister of Japan since 2024, currently serving with a minority government