Cabinet of Japan, 1960 MUNUC 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS ______________________________________________________ Letter from the Chair………………………………………………………….. 3 Letter from the Crisis Director…………………………………………………5 History of the Problem…………………………………………………………6 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………23 Powers of Committee……………………………………………...…………28 Character Biographies………………………………………………………3o Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...41 2 Cabinet of Japan, 1960 | MUNUC 32 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR ______________________________________________________ Dear Delegates, I’d like to welcome you all to the Japan 1960, a committee where we, the most important members of the government and elite, get to decide upon the identity of Japan. My name is Ritik Shah, and I will be your chair for this year’s conference. A bit about myself: I’m a second year at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Sciences, and I’m originally from the Jersey Shore. Besides MUNUC, I am also a crisis director for our college conference, ChoMUN, and compete on our travelling team. Outside of MUN, my main interests boil down to basketball, rap music, and Avatar the Last Airbender. As far as the committee goes, there are some important things to keep in mind. The goal of this committee mostly consists of determining the identity of a growing Japan including our international standing, technological prowess, domestic relations, and more. There will be problems to solve throughout the weekend, and we look to have productive debate on any and all topics that come our way. Another key point is that this committee is the tone of the committee. Ultimately, we are attempting to build up a nation. Having directives, speeches, or notes that support gratuitous violence or pointless aggression, will not be acceptable. Of course this committee will have conflict involved in it, but violence, especially when unwarranted, should not be the solution that delegates resort to. Of course, like every other committee, the most important thing we look for is respect during conference. Inflammatory or derogatory comments whether directed at another person or not will not be tolerated. Furthermore, any content that is discriminatory in any way will result in conseQuences. We do not see this being a problem on this committee and hope that you all engage in debate with respect. 3 Cabinet of Japan, 1960 | MUNUC 32 With that being said, Thadeus and I are super excited to be running this committee and we cannot wait to see you all during this upcoming conference! Best of luck, Ritik Shah [email protected] 4 Cabinet of Japan, 1960 | MUNUC 32 LETTER FROM THE CRISIS DIRECTOR ______________________________________________________ Welcome to the heady days of modern Japan! My name is Thadeus, and I will be your crisis director, serving as your guide through the harrowing times of nation building and the creation of a modern Japan. I am a third year student and a History/Political Science double major in the College. I have a fascination with all things historical, and a research emphasis on the rise and fall of empires and how they are sustained and administered. I come from Naperville, in the suburbs of Chicago (NeuQua Valley HS for any of you keeping track), and as somebody who almost went to MUNUC when I was in high school, I relish the opportunity to participate in the behind the scenes antics that make this conference run well - so much so that after being a Chair on the German Unification committee last year, I decided to return as a crisis director! I can be found exploring the city for new restaurants and foodie locales, browsing eBay, or repairing vintage fountain pens and typewriters. Outside of MUNUC, I participate in EUChicago, a research-cohort based group that studies the European Union and its broader policy, ChoMUN, our college Model UN conference, where I serve as an executive, and the UChicago Model UN team, wherein I am occasionally sent across the country to participate in conferences. I look forward to meeting you all in the committee and going through the process of statecraft together! If you have any Questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected], and I will gladly be of assistance. Regards, Thadeus J. Obora 5 Cabinet of Japan, 1960 | MUNUC 32 History of the Problem Geography of Japan The Japanese Archipelago is a region of four islands just 120 miles off the continent of Asia. It is a small country made even smaller by the fact that only 15% of the land is habitable and suitable for agriculture; most of Japan is covered in uninhabitable forested mountains.1 Japan is often impacted by natural disasters, mostly because Japan sits on the meeting point of four tectonic plates. Because of this, volcanic eruptions, earthQuakes, and tsunamis have been a regular part of Japan’s history.2 Alongside its dangers, living in Japan does have its benefits. Although land for farming is limited, the climate is very favorable for growing crops like rice, barley, potatoes, soybeans, and more.3 Farming areas are further enriched by the presence of rivers, which, while too small for transportation, still provide a source of irrigation. As an island chain, Japan also has easy access to the Pacific Ocean and thus has always relied heavily on fishing. As far as Japan’s location in perspective to other countries, its existence as an island chain has always kept it politically and culturally separate from China. While other parts of mainland East Asia have been heavily influenced by China over the years, Japan has managed to maintain its total independence for Quite some time. Furthermore, it 1 "Japan's Geography (1)." Geography: Japan's Geography. Accessed June 19, 2019. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/geography/japgeo.html. 2 "Japan's EarthQuakes & Tectonic Setting- Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology." IRIS. June 8, 2017. Accessed June 19, 2019. https://www.iris.edu/hQ/inclass/animation/japans_earthQuakes__tectonic_setting. 3 Saito, Hirosi. "The Natural Resources of Japan." The American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 122, no. 1 (November 1, 1925): 96-99. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/000271622512200112. 6 Cabinet of Japan, 1960 | MUNUC 32 has historically been a common landing spot for Pacific Ocean explorers, and its strategic location has allowed Japan to be a prominent force in the region. The Classical Era For 40,000 years man has called Japan home. These paleolithic and later hunter-gatherers roamed the islands and left behind stunning examples of edge-ground tools, cherished by archaeologists today. But the Japan of today started to develop in the Jōmon Period, stretching from 14,000 BCE to 300 BCE. The Northern Jōmon people would later intermingle with those from what is now South- Eastern Russia, the Kuril Islands, and the Kamchatka peninsula to form the Ainu - the closest living group related to the Jōmon, Satsumon, and Okhotsk cultures of ancient Japan. Little is known, unfortunately, about how they originally arrived in Japan or much of their ethnographic makeup, for even today the Ainu are repressed not only in Russia and the former Soviet Union (where the Ainu ethnicity no longer exists in official records despite a small and vocal group of ~100 people), but also in Japan, where legislation protecting and recognizing them as an indigenous people was only passed in 2008.4 The Yayoi Period, from 300 BCE to 250 CE, was a time of great change and development. It was in 100 BC when rice was first introduced to the islands, introducing its people to a staple part of the modern day Japanese diet. New techniQues of pottery, metalworking, glassmaking, and even government were introduced, as the area was ruled by a Queen called Himiko (or Pimiko).5 Further exchange with Korea and China brought bronze and iron weapons and tools, as well as the nascent ability to recreate and forge them. Slowly but surely, the Yayoi people began to replace or intermingle with the Jōmon, with the latter existing in communities in the north of the large island of Honshu until the Eighth Century. Today, the legacy of the Jōmon people is carried on through the small population of Ainu living in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan.6 4 Notehelfer, Fred G., and Shigeki Hijino. “History.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., November 14, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/History. 5 Ibid. 6 Notehelfer, Fred G., and Shigeki Hijino. “History.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., November 14, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/History. 7 Cabinet of Japan, 1960 | MUNUC 32 It was during the Yayoi period that the Japanese population began to grow and develop, with archaeologists finding the remains of grain storehouses and fortified towns accompanying an increase in tribal warfare and the stratification of society into different bands and eventual kingdoms. This, then, was the beginning of the system of regionalized and segmented rule that would characterize Japanese political life for centuries to come. The end of the Yayoi period brought the ascendance of one kingdom above the rest. Though its name is debated and unclear, a Chinese document calls it the Yamatai. Regardless of the nomenclature, the consolidation brought about the Kofun Era (Third Century - Sixth Century CE), and with it, centuries of imperial rule and diplomatic expansion to Korea and China - connections which would have an incredibly influential impact on the development of modern-day Japan. Named after the burial mounds of members of the ruling class, the era was distinguished by a powerful emperor supported by an aristocracy and subservient clans who worked to enact imperial and centralized rule more than ever before. These leaders received formal recognition from the Chinese Empire of the time, establishing themselves as the Five Kings of Wa, and with this recognition, broadening cultural exchange in Japan.