PLCP 4730: JAPANESE POLITICS (Spring 2012)
TR
2:00-3:15 in Gibson 342
Prof. Len Schoppa
South Lawn Gibson S461 (tel: 924-3211)
Hrs:
Tues and Thurs 3:30-4:30 pm (or appt)
e-mail: ljs2k@virginia.edu
In the period since World War II, Japan has become an increasingly
important American ally and rival--at once our partner in preserving the
postwar international economic and political system and a source of vigorous
economic competition. Up until recently, we were concerned that the nation's
prowess in manufacturing would lead to the deindustrialization of
America. More recently, we have worried that economic stagnation there
could bring the global economy to a grinding halt. Either way, it is
clearly vital that Americans take time out to further our understanding of this
nation. Are Japan and its government somehow different from Western norms in
ways that explain its past success and/or its recent failures? Are there
still elements of the Japanese model that we should try to emulate? Or
are there elements that we need to force Japan to change in order to mitigate
their negative effects on the global economy and our own nation's economic
welfare? These are just some of the questions we will explore and discuss
during this course.
This course examines continuity and change in all aspects of
Japanese politics. The first half of the course is more
lecture-oriented—but welcomes questions and discussion—and will
present the basic contours of postwar JapanÕs one-party-dominant and Òconvoy
capitalistÓ regime, as well as changes in political and economic institutions
that have been introduced since the 1990s. We will examine how a single
party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was able to establish a thorough
dominance of the system from 1955-2009 and the style of campaigning and profile
of public policy associated with LDP rule. We will then look at the
electoral and administrative reforms that were adopted in the 1990s and the
consequences these institutional changes have had on politics and policy in the
period up to 2009 when the LDP was replaced as the ruling party after a
landslide victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). After the
midterm, we will switch to a presentation-and-discussion format as we focus on
a series of contemporary issues in Japanese politics.
PRIMARY READINGS:
Large parts of the following books, available at the University
Bookstore, will be assigned. In addition, starred (*) items from the reading
list will be available in the resources section of the Collab site for this
class.
Jacob Schlesinger, Shadow Shoguns (Stanford University Press,
1999)
Frances Rosenbluth and Michael Thies, Japan Transformed
(Princeton University Press, 2010)
Leonard Schoppa, Race for the Exits: The Unraveling of
JapanÕs System of Social Protection (Cornell University Press, 2006)
Leonard Schoppa, ed. The Evolution of JapanÕs Party System:
Politics and Policy in an Era of Institutional Change (Toronto University
Press, 2011)
REQUIREMENTS:
This course requires students to take a midterm, deliver an oral
presentation, write a research paper, and participate in discussion. The in-class
midterm, based on lectures and the readings up to that point and
worth 35% of the final grade, is scheduled for March 15. During the second half
of the term, we will focus on a series of contemporary issues in Japanese
politics (selected by students well ahead of time, during the first week of
classes), starting each class session with an oral presentation by a pair of
students before switching over to discussion mode. Presentations of
25-30 minutes (so 15 minutes per student), will count for 20% of the final
grade. Students will then write a 14-15 page research paper, worth
30% of the final grade, on an aspect of the topic that they covered for their
oral presentations. Note that each student will write his or her OWN
paper, although working together to share books and prepare the oral
presentation is expected. The papers written by partners will likely
overlap in coverage, but it is expected that in most cases each student will
narrow the topic in a distinct way and present his/her own unique take on the
topic. I provide guidelines on the paper
and presentation assignment from this link,
and this bibliography
provides
you with a jump start finding relevant readings. The remaining 15% of the
grade will be based on participation in class discussion.
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE (1/19)
PART I: THE LDP-DOMINANT REGIME
1. LEGACY OF HISTORY:
LATE-DEVELOPMENT, WAR, AND OCCUPATION (1/24)
Rosenbluth and Thies, Japan Transformed, pp. 1-52.
2. POLITICS UNDER LDP DOMINANCE: CAMP
CONFLICT, FACTIONS, KOENKAI, AND CLIENTELISM (1/26 and 1/31)
Schlesigner, Shadow Shoguns, pp. 11-227.
3. POLITICAL ECONOMY UNDER LDP
DOMINANCE: CONVOY CAPITALISM (2/2 and 2/7)
Schoppa, Race for the Exits, pp. 36-66.
4. THE CULTURAL EXPLANATION (2/9)
5. THE INSTITUTIONAL EXPLANATION (2/14)
Rosenbluth and Thies, Japan Transformed, pp. 53-94.
PART II: THE COLLAPSE OF THE
LDP-DOMINANT REGIME
6. FROM LDP-DOMINANCE TO DPJ RULE (2/16)
Schlesinger, Shadow Shoguns, pp. 231-285.
Schoppa chapters in Schoppa, ed. The Evolution of JapanÕs
Party System, pp. 3-42.
Rosenbluth and Thies, Japan Transformed, pp. 95-122.
Reed chapter in Schoppa, ed. The Evolution of JapanÕs
Party System, pp. 43-62.
8. CHANGES IN JAPANÕS POLITICAL
ECONOMY – EXPLAINING ITS POOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE (3/1 and 3/13)
Rosenbluth and Thies, Japan Transformed, 123-154.
Schoppa, Race for the Exits, 1-16, 67-149.
PART III: TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY
JAPANESE POLITICS
10. WHAT KIND OF PARTY IS THE DPJ? (3/20)
Weiner chapter in Schoppa, ed. The Evolution of JapanÕs
Party System, pp. 63-98.
11. DECLINING FERTILTY AND THE ROLE
OF WOMEN (3/22)
Schoppa, Race for the Exits, pp. 150-212.
12. POSTAL AND FILP REFORM (3/27)
Maclachlan and Toyoda chapters in Schoppa, ed. The
Evolution of JapanÕs Party System, pp. 119-176.
21. PUBLIC DEBT AND TAXES IN JAPAN (3/29)
*Michael Keen et al, "Raising the
Consumption Tax in Japan: Why, When, How?" IMF Staff Discussion Note, June
16, 2011.
13. LABOR AND JAPANESE POLITICS (4/3)
Miura chapter in Schoppa, ed. The Evolution of JapanÕs
Party System, pp. 177-204.
14. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN JAPAN (4/5)
15. EARTHQUAKE AND NUCLEAR DISASTER
RESPONSE IN JAPAN
(4/10—no class 4/12)
*Jeff Kingston, ÒOusting Kan Naoto: The Politics
of Nuclear Crisis and Renwable Energy in Japan,Ó The Asia-Pacific
Journal Vol 9, Issue 39 No 5, September 26, 2011 (online here)
*Martin Fackler and Norimitsu Onishi, ÒIn Japan, a Culture that
Promotes Nuclear Dependency,Ó New York Times, May 30, 2011.
16. ENERGY POLICY AFTER FUKUSHIMA (4/17)
*Andrew DeWit, ÒFallout From the Fukushima Shock: JapanÕs Emerging
Energy Policy,Ó The Asia-Pacific Journal Vol 9, Issue 45 No 5,
November 7, 2011 (online here)
17. IMMIGRATION AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY
IN JAPAN (4/19)
18. JAPANÕS SECURITY POLICY (4/24)
Rosenbluth and Thies, Japan Transformed, 155-185.
19. THE OKINAWA BASE ISSUE (4/26)
*Gavan McCormack and Norimatsu Satoko,
ÒDiscordant Visitors: Japanese and Okinawan Messages to the US,Ó The
Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol 9, Issue 40, No 1, October 3, 2011 (online here).