DOCSLIB.ORG

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party As a Far Right Movement Wesley Yee [email protected]

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Spring 1-2018 Making Japan Great Again: Japan's Liberal Democratic Party as a Far Right Movement Wesley Yee [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/honors Part of the Asian Studies Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, and the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Yee, Wesley, "Making Japan Great Again: Japan's Liberal Democratic Party as a Far Right Movement" (2018). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 23. https://repository.usfca.edu/honors/23 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract, Keywords, and Acknowledgements iii List of Acronyms/Abbreviations iv Introduction 1 Literature Review 2 Characterizing the far-right in Europe and the U.S. 2 Characterizing mobilization strategies of the far-right 6 Methods and Analysis 8 Limitations 9 Discussion 9 The Support Base – rural voters and nationalists 12 The Issue – national defense, economic stimulus, and “Taking Back Japan” 13 The Chance – lack of opposition and national security 15 Conclusion 17 References 19 ii ABSTRACT In recent years, far right-wing political parties have gained power around the world. Far-right movements build a populist, anti-establishment support base through the use of ethno- nationalism and xenophobic policies and slogans. This article applies the models and party frames used to study European far-right movements and applies them to the case of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), a party whose policies under prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe have pushed the party from having a center-right stance to having more of a far-right nationalist and populist one. Using this framework I find that the LDP has utilized its electoral advantage, promises of economic revitalization, and populist slogans such as “Take Back Japan” to simultaneously gather support from both center and far-right conservatives to win the parliamentary majority necessary for Shinzo Abe’s primary goal of revising the postwar pacifist constitution. According to my analysis, the LDP is ultimately an old establishment party in Japan that has taken on strategies similar to that of far-right movements in Europe to advance and transform its aims, and it fits the framework set forth by the literature except for the fact that it is a longstanding establishment party. An important topic for future study would be the continued exploration of establishment parties who succeed in pushing themselves toward the far-right using tactics generally employed by anti-establishment parties. KEYWORDS Politics, Japan, Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, Far-Right, Nationalism ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family and friends, I thank them for their unending support of my studies of important global issues like these. This work has been many years in the making, and I thank them for their patience and support. To Professor Brian Dowd-Uribe, I particularly appreciate the unending patience, support, and feedback on my work. It has been an amazing year working together. To Professor Uldis Kruze, thank you for hearing out my initial ideas and providing a helpful direction for my thesis. Our discussions were central to my initial formation of this work. To Professor Stephen Roddy, I appreciate your constant advice regarding Asian Studies topics and guidance regarding my academic program. Finally, to Professor Dana Zartner, Professor John Zarobell, and Jenny Alcivar of the International Studies Department, thank you so much for providing the space and opportunities for me to construct this work within the BAIS program. Your collective passion for studying the world through an inter-disciplinary lens inspires all of us to do great work at USF and in the global community. iii LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS DPJ – Democratic Party of Japan LDP – Liberal Democratic Party UKIP – United Kingdom Independence Party U.S. – United States of America iv INTRODUCTION In recent years, far right-wing political parties have gained power around the world. Party leaders like Marie Le Pen, Nigel Farage, and most recently, Donald Trump have orchestrated breakout campaigns that cater to the disenfranchised, anti-immigration and migration voters that big money urban politics tends to ignore. These politicians run on populist slogans such as “Make America Great Again,” and promise to revitalize and return their country to greatness, while working solely for the interests of their citizens. These kinds of neoconservative, far-right populist parties have existed for quite some time, yet they have gained significant traction since the global recession began in 2008. As this is an emerging topic, it is important for those studying political science to study these new movements, as certain ideologies (including xenophobia, homophobia, and ethno-nationalistic tendencies) which precipitated WWII are often a big part of these movements and political parties. In response to this need for us to understand all different political ideologies, there now exists a strong story of powerful far-right party emergence and dominance that began in the 1980s and 90s in Western Europe, the methods from which will be used in this study. What has not been studied as much is the case for establishment conservative parties that are able to engage the far-right while keeping their original supporters as well. This appears to be the case of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan. What this work is primarily interested in is the unique nature of the current Japanese political situation since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s return in 2013, and how he and his contemporaries have pulled the LDP, Japan’s most established political party, into a more right-wing stance. I explore how the case of Abe’s LDP is related to and different from that of the emergence of far-right movements in Europe and the U.S. To do this, I will define the LDP’s place in the emerging spectrum of far- and new-right parties internationally, according to established party frames. As information and research about various right-wing politics has become more available in the last 20-30 years, it is now far easier to view political movements as being connected on a more global scale. As far right movements are becoming more prevalent throughout the world, it is important to study them, compare them, and understand the drive that fuels their vocal supporters. The LDP will serve as a case study of a party that has transformed from an establishment party into one which employs certain strategies indicative of right-wing movements. Specifically, this question will be addressed: How 1 is the rise of the LDP’s neoconservative far-right group, led by Shinzo Abe, related to international instances of far-right party emergence? What about the LDP fits the far-right party model, and what doesn’t? LITERATURE REVIEW Political attitudes and ideological orientation are often talked about in terms of a left/right comparison. In terms of the far-right party emergence literature, “far-right” is characterized as having ideals similar but not limited to: preserving national cultural integrity and homogeneity through ethno-nationalism (Rydgren 2005), meeting national needs first and supporting the people through populism (Rydgren 2005; Cole 2005), and in some cases reverting to some sort of new nationalist society built off of glorified history and culture (Blee 2010). Firstly, I will review the general characteristics of the European and American far-right. Afterward, I will explore the mobilization and expansion strategies of these movements. Characterizing the far-right in Europe and the U.S. Since the 1990s, the study of far-right political movements has been growing in popularity due to the growth of these movements, most notably in western Europe. Having been marginalized after WWII on the basis of their previously racist and fascist ideologies, these sorts of parties and groups existed on the margins of the world’s societies for many years (Rydgren 2004, 2005, 2007; Cole 2005). After the French National Front began its electoral successes, several other parties used the same methods and party platforms, based on a new far-right party master frame (Rydgren 2005). The study of western far-right movements, which will be used as the comparison group for that of Japan’s case, has come to somewhat of a consensus regarding the definition of a far- right political party, whether it be in Europe, the United States, or elsewhere. The parties capitalize on rhetoric like “the big parties are leaving you behind” to build a populist, anti- establishment support base in their electorate, and vow to properly represent constituents’ views in the legislature (Arter 2010). At least in the U.S. case, indicating a new enemy that posed a threat to the integrity of “American” values was important, and in the U.S. case the chosen enemies are often immigrants, liberals, and sexual/gender minorities (Blee/Creasap 2010). 2 One of the earliest far-right parties to gain traction after the postwar period of marginalization was that of Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front in France, who essentially pioneered the undermining of the mainstream parties through smart political tactics. The National Front is considered to be one of the earliest pioneers of radical right party emergence in the postwar period and a “role model” of sorts to all parties that came after it (Rydgren 2005). In the 1980s, the National Front slowly gained its footing on the French political stage, breaking up the stable four-party system.
Recommended publications
  • The Significance of Nippon Kaigi in the Revisionist

    The Significance of Nippon Kaigi in the Revisionist

    Tomomi Yamaguchi The “HistoryWars” and the “Comfort Woman” Issue: The SignificanceofNippon Kaigi in the Revisionist Movement in ContemporaryJapan Introduction In December 2012,Abe Shinzō became Japan’sPrime Minister for the second time. From the beginning of his political career in 1993asanew member of the House of Representativesfrom the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (hereafter,LDP), Abehas been apolitician committed to historical revisionist causes. Both times that he served as the primeminister in 2006–2007 and then since 2012,Abe showed extensive interest in denying Japan’sresponsibility over the “comfort woman” issue, and the issue gained lots of political attention, both in Japan and abroad.¹ At the national political level, the revision of the Kōno statement issued on 4August 1993, by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary, Kōno Yōhei, became the topic of intense discussion. The statement includes the phrase, “[a] government studyhas revealed thatinmanycases they werere- cruited against their own will, through coaxing, coercion, etc., and that,attimes, administrative/military personneldirectlytook part in the recruitments.”² Right- wing forces arguetothis daythatthe Kōno statement’sindication that the “com- fort women” wereforciblyrecruited by the Japanese military is false. After the building of the “comfort woman” statue (Statue of Peace) in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in December 2011, the Japanese right-wingand the government have been obsessed with “comfort women” statues and memo- rials in different overseas locations, giventheir heavy interest in the internation- al reputation of Japan. The building of the first “comfort woman” memorial in the U.S. in front of alibrary in Palisades Park, New Jersey,in2010,gainedatten- tion of Japanese conservativesinspring 2012.Subsequently,statues werebuilt in The term “comfortwomen” was aeuphemism used during WWII, which does not reflect the harsh realities of women forciblyengaged in sexual slavery.When used in English-languageac- tivism and academia this term is often put in quotation marks.
  • Growing Democracy in Japan: the Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868

    Growing Democracy in Japan: the Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Kentucky University of Kentucky UKnowledge Asian Studies Race, Ethnicity, and Post-Colonial Studies 5-15-2014 Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System since 1868 Brian Woodall Georgia Institute of Technology Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Woodall, Brian, "Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System since 1868" (2014). Asian Studies. 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_asian_studies/4 Growing Democracy in Japan Growing Democracy in Japan The Parliamentary Cabinet System since 1868 Brian Woodall Due to variations in the technical specifications of different electronic reading devices, some elements of this ebook may not appear as they do in the print edition. Readers are encouraged to experiment with user settings for optimum results. Copyright © 2014 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Woodall, Brian.
  • The New Trend in Japanese Domestic Politics and Its Implications

    The New Trend in Japanese Domestic Politics and Its Implications

    The New Trend in Japanese Domestic Politics and Its Implications Hiroki Takeuchi Southern Methodist University [email protected] ABSTRACT Japan has long been the most important ally of the United States in East Asia and it is widely viewed in Washington as a pillar of stability in the Asia-Pacific region. For a long time, the relationship with the United States, especially attitudes toward the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, determined the division between “right” and “left” in Japanese politics. However, this division has become meaningless during the last two decades since the Cold War ended, and a new division has emerged in Japanese politics over the attitudes toward domestic economic reforms and state- market relations. On the one hand, “conservatives” (hoshu-ha) try to protect the vested interests (kitoku keneki) that were created during the dominant rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). On the other hand, “reformists” (kaikaku-ha) try to advance economic reforms that would severely undermine those vested interests. This paper discusses the implications of this new trend in Japanese politics. Paper prepared for the Ostrom Workshop, Indiana University April 18, 2016 The paper is work in progress in the fullest sense. Please do not quote without the author’s permission. Comments and criticisms are welcome. 1 Japan has long been the most important ally of the United States in East Asia and it is widely viewed in Washington as a pillar of stability in the Asia-Pacific region. After World War II was over, Japan immediately became a U.S. partner in preserving the postwar international economic and political system.
  • Video Transcript for “Overview of Japanese Politics” Online At

    Video Transcript for “Overview of Japanese Politics” Online At

    Video Transcript for “Overview of Japanese Politics” Online at https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/multimedia/overview-japanese-politics Phillip Y. Lipscy Assistant Professor, Political Science, Stanford University; The Thomas Rohlen Center Fellow, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center ******* Japanese politics, just like the politics of any other country, is complicated and multi- faceted. So to begin with the very basic features of Japanese politics, Japan is a constitutional monarchy, and the head of state is the emperor, currently Akihito, and the head of the government is the prime minister, currently Shinzo Abe. The distinction between a head of state and a head of government is that the head of state serves mostly in a ceremonial role as essentially somebody who encapsulates the spirit of the country, but the head of government is really the person who administers the government and implements policy. The Japanese Constitution, which has been in place since directly after the end of World War II, was drafted by the United States, essentially the Allied Occupation authorities, and it represented a major transformation of the Japanese political system from the pre- war period. And to give you one example, the Constitution was considered very progressive for the time, and one reason for this is a 22-year-old person named Beate Sirota Gordon was able to essentially unilaterally (in collaboration with other members of the U.S. Occupation authorities who were drafting the Constitution) include an equal protection clause and a marriage equality clause in the Constitution. And so this represented a very significant departure from Japanese cultural norms as well as the pre-war Constitution.
  • The History Problem: the Politics of War

    The History Problem: the Politics of War

    History / Sociology SAITO … CONTINUED FROM FRONT FLAP … HIRO SAITO “Hiro Saito offers a timely and well-researched analysis of East Asia’s never-ending cycle of blame and denial, distortion and obfuscation concerning the region’s shared history of violence and destruction during the first half of the twentieth SEVENTY YEARS is practiced as a collective endeavor by both century. In The History Problem Saito smartly introduces the have passed since the end perpetrators and victims, Saito argues, a res- central ‘us-versus-them’ issues and confronts readers with the of the Asia-Pacific War, yet Japan remains olution of the history problem—and eventual multiple layers that bind the East Asian countries involved embroiled in controversy with its neighbors reconciliation—will finally become possible. to show how these problems are mutually constituted across over the war’s commemoration. Among the THE HISTORY PROBLEM THE HISTORY The History Problem examines a vast borders and generations. He argues that the inextricable many points of contention between Japan, knots that constrain these problems could be less like a hang- corpus of historical material in both English China, and South Korea are interpretations man’s noose and more of a supportive web if there were the and Japanese, offering provocative findings political will to determine the virtues of peaceful coexistence. of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, apologies and that challenge orthodox explanations. Written Anything less, he explains, follows an increasingly perilous compensation for foreign victims of Japanese in clear and accessible prose, this uniquely path forward on which nationalist impulses are encouraged aggression, prime ministerial visits to the interdisciplinary book will appeal to sociol- to derail cosmopolitan efforts at engagement.
  • Between Power and Protest

    Between Power and Protest

    HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO Between power and protest The Japan Times and Anpo-protests in 1960 Meri Tuuli Elina Timonen Master’s thesis Political history Department of Social sciences University of Helsinki December 2020 Tiedekunta – Fakultet – Faculty Koulutusohjelma – Utbildingsprogram – Degree Programme Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta Yhteiskunnallisen muutoksen maisteriohjelma Tekijä – Författare – Author Meri Tuuli Elina Timonen Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title Between power and protest – The Japan Times and Anpo-protests 1960 Oppiaine/Opintosuunta – Läroämne/Studieinriktning – Subject/Study track Poliittinen historia Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Maisterintutkielma 12/2020 70 + 3 sivua. Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract The aim of this thesis is to research Japan-U.S. Security Treaty protests in 1960 in global context. The Anpo-protests were selected as research topic because not much research was found of the protests. Anpo-protests begun in 1959 and ended in late 1960. The main motive was to oppose revision of U.S.- Japan Security Treaty but eventually protests led to resignation of the prime minister Kishi Nobusuke. The protests were the largest in Japanese history and left their legacy to Japanese political history and civil society. Scholars have researched Anpo-protests to some extent. However, the Anpo-protests have not been analysed in Worldwide context of Cold war which is why transnational history got selected as primary theoretical framework for this thesis. This thesis uses the Japan Times as the primary source. The Japan Times is Japan’s oldest English language newspaper firstly published in 1897. As for main method theory-guided content analysis was used.
  • The “Japan Is Great!” Boom, Historical Revisionism, and the Government

    The “Japan Is Great!” Boom, Historical Revisionism, and the Government

    Volume 15 | Issue 6 | Number 3 | Article ID 5021 | Mar 15, 2017 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus The “Japan Is Great!” Boom, Historical Revisionism, and the Government Tomomi Yamaguchi This is the first of a two-part article. Part two, ideology can enter the mundane, everyday entitled “The National Story of ‘Japan Is Great’” spheres of life. In doing so, Hayakawa by Hayakawa Tadanori, is available here. brilliantly demonstrates how the nationalistic movement “Japanism” (Nihonshugi) took off. Abstract: As the Tokyo Shimbun reported in its He shows that these books “discover” the recent article, the expression “Japan Is Great!” greatness of Japan everywhere, from rice and and a distinctive nationalistic sentimentfish consumption to etiquette, hygiene, and associated with it flood the mass media in physical training methods. And through his Japan today. Journalists and televisionexamination of nationalistic publications in the personalities praise Japan ad nauseam.country’s past—those that like the “Japan Is Hayakawa Tadanori is an editor and writer who Great” publications today also overstated the has extensively covered this “Japan-Is-Great” uniqueness of the country’s culture and phenomenon. Analyzing issues surrounding technology—he clarifies how that older “Japan nationalism and propaganda both in pre-war Is Great” discourse bolstered the mobilization and contemporary Japan, he examines topics for the Greater East Asia War, thereby ranging from patriotic mobilization in pre-war awakening us to the danger of history and war-time Japan to post-war propaganda repeating itself. promoting nuclear energy. His most recent book, The Dystopia of “Japan Is Great”: The Genealogy of Singing One's Own Praises in Wartime (“Nihon sugoi” no disutopia: senjika jiga jisan no keifu, Seikyūsha, 2016) analyzes “precursors to the current ‘Japan Is Great!’ discourse” in publications between 1925 and 1945.
  • Japanese Politics Syllabus

    Japanese Politics Syllabus

    Japanese Politics PS 3530 MTWR 3:00-5:05 Introduction: Japan stands in a peculiar position in today’s world. As pundits talk about conflict between “The West” and other parts of the world, no one is sure where to put Japan. It is an industrialized democracy like the United States and Western Europe, but it is nonwhite and definitely not European. In a decade it swang from the world’s largest creditor to the world’s largest debtor government. As “Globalization” and “Americanisation” have become synonyms around the world, Japan is perhaps the only other country whose pop culture (Pokemon, video games, Hello Kitty, and karaoke are just some examples) reaches a global audience. Its constitution forbids Japan from having armed forces, but Japan has the 3rd largest military budget in the world and it sent troops to Iraq. Not even the Japanese themselves are sure how to reconcile these facts. In this course we will examine the politics and policies of contemporary Japan in an attempt to understand Japan’s place in the world. We will start with the evolution of Japan before WWII, asking what enabled Japan to transform itself from an isolated backwater into a great power. As we continue with the postwar construction of a stable conservative government and look for persistent trends in Japanese governance. Finally, we will consider how Japan is dealing with the turbulence of the 1990s: economic growth stopped, the political consensus behind the Liberal Democratic Party broke down, and Japan could no longer rely on the United States to make security and foreign policy decisions on its behalf.
  • The Limits of Forgiveness in International Relations: Groups

    The Limits of Forgiveness in International Relations: Groups

    JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations E-ISSN: 1647-7251 [email protected] Observatório de Relações Exteriores Portugal del Pilar Álvarez, María; del Mar Lunaklick, María; Muñoz, Tomás The limits of forgiveness in International Relations: Groups supporting the Yasukuni shrine in Japan and political tensions in East Asia JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations, vol. 7, núm. 2, noviembre, 2016, pp. 26- 49 Observatório de Relações Exteriores Lisboa, Portugal Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=413548516003 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative OBSERVARE Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa e-ISSN: 1647-7251 Vol. 7, Nº. 2 (November 2016-April 2017), pp. 26-49 THE LIMITS OF FORGIVENESS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: GROUPS SUPPORTING THE YASUKUNI SHRINE IN JAPAN AND POLITICAL TENSIONS IN EAST ASIA María del Pilar Álvarez [email protected] Research Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Salvador (USAL, Argentina) and Visiting Professor of the Department of International Studies at the University T. Di Tella (UTDT). Coordinator of the Research Group on East Asia of the Institute of Social Science Research (IDICSO) of the USAL. Postdoctoral Fellow of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) of Argentina. Doctor of Social Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Holder of a Master Degree on East Asia, Korea, from Yonsei University. Holder of a Degree in Political Science (UBA).
  • Japanese Electoral Politics: Reform, Results, and Prospects for the Future

    Japanese Electoral Politics: Reform, Results, and Prospects for the Future

    Japanese Electoral Politics: Reform, Results, and Prospects for the Future Author: Joe Michael Sasanuma Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/470 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2004 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. BOSTON COLLEGE JAPANESE ELECTORAL POLITICS: REFORM, RESULTS AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE A SENIOR HONORS THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE HONORS PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY JOE M. MICHAEL SASANUMA April 2004 - 1 - Table of Contents Part I: Introduction 3 Chapter 1: The Lost Ten Years 4 Part II: Revolution, Realignment, and the Man Named Ozawa 12 Chapter 2: Money and Machine Politics 13 Chapter 3: Ozawa Ichiro’s Reform, Revolt, and Revolution 15 Chapter 4: Hosokawa’s Fall, LDP’s Return, and Ozawa Again 21 Chapter 5: Realignment 24 Part III: The Electoral System: Before and After 38 Chapter 6: The Medium Size Election District System 39 Chapter 7: The Mixed System 43 Chapter 8: Analyzing the New Electoral System 49 Part IV: Previous Elections 66 Chapter 9: The Election of 1996 67 Chapter 10: The Election of 2000 69 Part V: The Election of 2003 77 Chapter 11: Results and Analysis 78 Chapter 12: Predictions and Results 88 Chapter 13: District Analysis 102 Part VI: Conclusion 132 Chapter 14: Prospects for the Future 133 - 2 - Part I Introduction - 3 - Chapter 1: The Lost Ten Years In an interview conducted by the Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper in May of 2003, then- vice-speaker of the Lower House Watanabe Kozo called the past decade of Japanese politics “The Lost Ten Years.”1 Although the term is used more commonly to describe the Japanese economic stagnation of the 1990s, in many ways his use of the term to describe politics was equally appropriate.
  • The Uses of the Holocaust in Japanese Conservative Internet Media

    The Uses of the Holocaust in Japanese Conservative Internet Media

    Journal of Asia-Pacific StudiesThe Uses (Waseda of the University) Holocaust inNo. Japanese 26 (March Conservative 2016) Internet Media The Uses of the Holocaust in Japanese Conservative Internet Media Jeffrey J. Hall† Past scholarship on the Holocaust has shown that various groups throughout the world have at- tempted to emulate Jewish Holocaust awareness campaigning in their own activist campaigns aimed at bringing attention to other historical events. Such studies have almost exclusively focused on groups rep- resenting the victims of atrocities. However, there has been little academic study on the use of the Holo- caust in campaigns to deny alleged historical atrocities. This paper explores how the Holocaust is used by members of Japan’s conservative right in their efforts to deny Chinese and Korean claims of historical victimization. It will also address the possible misconception that widespread anti-Semitism and Holo- caust denial exist among the Japanese conservative right. This misconception seemed evident in early 2014, when foreign media outlets ran stories suggesting that acts of anti-Jewish vandalism at Tokyo li- braries were linked to the conservative supporters of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. To analyze the views and uses of the Holocaust among the Japanese conservative right, this paper examined programs created by Nihon Bunka Channel Sakura, a conservative internet broadcaster with links to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s political base. The response from Nihon Bunka Channel Sakura to that incident, as well as its other programs that mentioned the Holocaust, depicted the Holocaust as a historical fact, celebrated Japanese heroes who protected Jews, denied the existence of anti-Semitism in Japan, and argued that Japanese are victims of foreign “lies” and “propaganda.” The truth of the Holocaust was contrasted with what conservatives saw as false or exaggerated accounts of atrocities committed by Japan during World War II.
  • University of Hawni Library the Role of Antimilitarism in Postwar Japanese Political Legitimacy a Dissertation Submitted To

    University of Hawni Library the Role of Antimilitarism in Postwar Japanese Political Legitimacy a Dissertation Submitted To

    UNIVERSITY OF HAWNI LIBRARY THE ROLE OF ANTIMILITARISM IN POSTWAR JAPANESE POLITICAL LEGITIMACY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE DECEMBER 2002 By David B. Fouse Dissertation Committee: Yasumasa Kuroda, Chairperson James Dator DougBwy Lonny Carlile Patricia Steinhoff Acknowledgements First of all I would like to thank all of the members of my committee for their continued support during the long period in which the research and writing of this dissertation was carried out. I hope that the end result will in some way justify their long­ tenn commitment to the project. Chairperson Dr. Yasumasa Kuroda provided early stimulus for my research into Japanese politics and has been a continual source of inspiration and support throughout the dissertation process. lowe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Kuroda for challenging me to learn the Japanese language at an early stage in my doctoral studies. As he predicted, the time and effort exerted during that process have since paid huge dividends for me both in terms of cross-cultural understanding and in helping to gamer the necessary financial support to complete this study. Without Dr. Kuroda's support and advice, this dissertation could not have been completed. Two other committee members from inside the Political Science Department have also provided critical support for the dissertation and have been generous with their time and advice. Dr. James Dator has been an unwavering source of encouragement and taught me early on that "history is not destiny," an approach to academic study that I hope to have done justice to in this dissertation.