Part I – Laying the Foundations for the Course (And the Japanese State)

PSC2374: Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan Spring 2012

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Department of Political Science FALL - 2013

Political Science 2374: Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan TIME: Mon. &Wed. 2:20-3:35 p.m. Location: Duques 251

Instructor: Benjamin Self Office: Monroe 426 Office Hours: Wed. 3:40-5:00 or by appointment E-mail: [email protected]

[SYLLABUS WILL BE REVISED!!!]

Course Description Within a decade of defeat in the Pacific War Japan emerged as a major economic power and crucial Cold War ally of the United States. Now, after a period of stagnation Japan is undergoing a series of political and economic changes that have been likened to those of the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and defeat in war. These changes include the reordering of Japan’s political economy and the adoption of a more active foreign policy. Japan is poised to play an important role in shaping the future of the Asia-Pacific, the region that promises to determine to course of the coming century.

In this course we examine the politics, economics, and foreign policy of Japan. The course is organized around three themes: 1) the classical model of Japanese political economy and its breakdown; 2) challenges facing Japan as it struggles to navigate a difficult transition, and 3) Japanese grand strategy.

Questions we will consider during the course include: • How can we explain Japan’s postwar economic performance, and its recent stagnation? • Why did the Liberal Democratic Party stay in power for so long? What explains its return to power? • Is Japan becoming a ‘normal nation’ in its conduct of foreign policy?

Learning Outcomes As a result of completing this course, students will:

• Evaluate the major explanations for Japan’s postwar economic performance and political dynamics • Understand the determinants of Japanese foreign policy • Use analytic tools developed in the course to theorize about current

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changes in Japan’s political economy and foreign policy.

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Course Assessment Student performance is assessed in three ways:

• A midterm examination held in class on . • Analytic paper o Choice to write on section II, III, or IV o Details, including paper topics, handed out later • A final examination, held during exam period.

Grade Breakdown The grade breakdown is as follows:

Participation 10% Midterm 30% Analytic Paper 30% Final Exam 30%

Analytic Paper There is an analytic paper required in this class. The paper should be a maximum of 2000 words long, including footnotes. Paper topics will be handed out during the semester.

• I use the following scale for grading: A (93-100); A- (90-92); B+ (87-89); B (83-86); B- (80-82); C+ (77-79); C (73-76); C- (70-72); D (60-69); F (0-59).

Class Policies Attendance Policy The readings and lectures are complementary to one another. Exams and papers will cover material from both. It is therefore in your interest to keep up with the readings and attend lectures regularly.

Academic Integrity The GW Code of Academic Integrity states that “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresentation of one’s own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.”

For the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html

Students who have been identified as breaking the code will automatically

3 PSC2374: Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan Spring 2012 receive zero marks for the relevant course component. Students identified as breaking the code more than once receive an automatic fail for the course. Claiming ignorance about how or when to cite sources is not an excuse for academic dishonesty.

The Writing Center (http://www.gwu.edu/~gwriter/) can help you ensure you cite correctly, as well as with other aspects of paper writing.

Late Work Work handed in late will be penalized 1/3 of a grade for each day it is late. Work not handed in will receive zero marks. There are only two exceptions: illness or family emergency. You must provide written documentation, such as a doctor’s note in the case of illness, to be granted permission to hand in work at a later date. THIS MUST BE ARRANGED PRIOR TO THE DUE DATE.

Make Up Exams Make-up examinations will not be held unless for reasons of: 1) illness; 2) family emergency; 3) if the assessment date falls on a religious holiday. Please contact me in advance of the date if you require a make-up examination for religious reasons.

Support for Students Outside the Classroom Disability Support Services (DSS) Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202- 994-8250 in the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss

University Counseling Center (UCC) – 202-994-5300 The University Counseling Center (UCC) offers 24/7 assistance and referral to address students’ personal, social, career, and study skills problems. Services for students include: • crisis and emergency health consultations • confidential assessment, counseling services (individual and small group), and referrals For additional information please refer to: http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/counselingservices/academicsupportservices

Security In the case of emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building. After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.

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Course Readings Sections of the following books will be assigned during the semester. They cover Japan’s modern history from the perspectives of politics, the economy, and grand strategy. You can purchase them from the university bookshop or online through Amazon.com or equivalent online bookstores. Most of the other readings will be available on Blackboard.

• Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan (2nd edition), (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) • Richard J. Samuels, Securing Japan: Tokyo’s Grand Strategy and the Future of Asia, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008)

Blackboard Readings that are not available online through library services are available on Blackboard. Please ensure you know how to access readings and post to the Blackboard system by the beginning of semester.

This is a tremendously exciting time to be researching and learning about Japan’s politics, economy, and foreign policy. The rapidity of recent changes and nature of the publishing business mean that academic work inevitably appears with some lag from the events of today. For this reason I encourage you to get into the habit of using online resources. Most of the major Japanese newspapers have online English editions, including the right-leaning Yomiuri (http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/), left-leaning Asahi (http://www.asahi.com/english/), and centrist Mainichi (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/) The major business daily is the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or Nikkei as it is commonly known (http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/freetop.aspx). Make one your top-page for the semester and you’ll be surprised how much you learn.

The blogosphere also has engaged the world of Japanese political economy. The following blogs are also worth checking if you have the time. They vary in their degree of irreverence, so be warned!

• East Asia Forum (http://www.eastasiaforum.org/) • Japan Economy News (http://www.japaneconomynews.com/) • Shisaku (http://shisaku.blogspot.com/)

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Part I – Laying the Foundations for the Course (and the Japanese State)

Week 1: Course Description and Introduction

Key Questions • What is this course about? • What were the economic and political foundations of the Tokugawa regime? • What was the institutional structure of the Meiji State? How did this effect politics?

Required Readings • Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan, 3-75; 93-112

Recommended Readings • Masataka Kosaka, “The Showa Era (1926-1989), Daedelus Vol. 119 No. 3 (1990), 27-47. • 1889 Constitution of the Empire of Japan (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/1889con.html)

Week 2 – Japan in the Cold War

Key Questions • What were the major institutional reforms carried out by SCAP? What effects did they have on Japan’s political economy? • Are the pre- and post-war periods best understood as continuous, or as two distinct periods? • How did the Cold War effect postwar Japan?

Required Readings • 1947 Constitution of Japan (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/1947con.html). • John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, 33- 84; 346-373. • Samuels, Securing Japan, 1-59.

Recommended Readings • Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan, 224-241. • Michael Schaller, Altered States: The United States and Japan since the Occupation (New York: Oxford University Press,1997), 1-76. • Herbert Passin, “The Occupation: Some Reflections,” Daedalus, Vol. 119, No. 3, 107-129.

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Part II – The Classical Age of Japan’s Political Economy

Week 3 – The “1955 System”: Institutional Foundations of Economic Growth

Key Questions • What is the developmental state? • How important was it in promoting Japanese economic growth?

Required Readings • Chalmers Johnson, MITI and the Japanese Miracle, 1-34. • Paul Krugman, “The Myth of Asia’s Miracle,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 73, No. 6, 62-78.

Recommended Readings • Edward J. Lincoln, “The Showa Economic Experience,” Daedelus Vol. 119 No. 3 (1990), 191-208. • Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan, 243-267.

Week 4 – The Politics of Economic Growth

Key Questions • Why did the LDP dominate the postwar era?

Required Readings • Bradley Richardson, Japanese Democracy, 49-73. • Junnosuke Masumi, “The 1955 System in Japan and Its Subsequent Development,” Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Mar., 1988), 286-306. • Ethan Scheiner, “Pipelines of Pork: Japanese Politics and a Model of Local Opposition Party Failure,” Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 38, No. 7, (2005), 799-823.

Recommended Readings • Gordon, Modern History of Japan, 263-288. • Patricia L. Maclachlan, “Post Office Politics in Modern Japan: The Postmasters, Iron Triangles and the Limits of Reform,” Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2004), 281-313. • Richard Colignon and Chikako Usui, “The Resilience of Japan's Iron Triangle: Amakudari,” Asian Survey Vol. 41, No. 5 (2001), 865-895.

Week 5 – Pressure for Change - Politics

Key Questions

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• What pressures forced change in Japan’s model of political economy?

Required Readings • Richard Katz, The System that Soured: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Economic Miracle, M.E. Sharpe, 1998, 165-196. • Chalmers Johnson, “Tanaka Kakuei, Structural Corruption, and the Advent of Machine Politics in Japan” Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1986), 1-28. • Aurelia George Mulgan The Role of Foreign Pressure (gaiatsu) in Japan's Agricultural Trade Liberalization, The Pacific Review Vol. 10 No. 2 (1997), 165-209.

Week 6 – Pressure for Change - Economics

Key Questions • What was the economic Bubble? What were its effects?

Required Readings • Yves Tiberghien, Navigating the Path of Least Resistance: Financial Deregulation and the Origins of the Japanese Crisis,” Journal of East Asian Studies Vol. 5, No. 3 (2005), 427-464. • T.J. Pempel, “Structural Gaiatsu, International Finance and Political Change in Japan,” Comparative Political Studies Vol. 32 No. 8 (1999), 907- 932. • Ko Mishima, “The Changing Relationship Between Japan’s LDP and the Bureaucracy,” Asian Survey Vo. 38, No. 10 (1998), 968-985.

Recommended Readings • Jennifer A. Amyx, “Informality and Institutional Inertia: the Case of Japanese Financial Regulation,” Japanese Journal of Political Science Vol. 2 No. 1, 47-6. • Yamamura, Kozo. “The Japanese Political Economy after the “Bubble”: Plus Ca Change?” Journal of Japanese Studies Vol. 23, No. 2, 291-331. • Ulrike Schaede, “What Happened to the Japanese Model?” Review of International Economics Vol. 12, No. 2 (2004), 277–294.

Week 7 – Foreign Policy of Japan in the post-Cold War Era

Part III – The Era of Reform

Week 8 – Mid Term Examination

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Week 9 - The Era of Reform: Political Reform I

Key Questions • What were the causes of the political crisis of the 1990s?

Required Readings • Masaru Kohno, Postwar Japanese Party System, 1996, 135-158. • Hideo Otake, "Forces for the Political Reform: The LDP's Young Reformers and Ozawa Ichiro," Journal of Japanese Studies, Summer 1996, 269-294.

Week 10 – The Era of Reform: Political Reform II

Key Questions • The politics of electoral reform • The Koizumi Phenomenon: The LDP’s last attempt to reorganize itself”

Required Readings • Margarita Estevez-Abe, “Japan’s Shift toward a Westminster System,” Asian Survey, Vol. 46, No. 4, 632-651. • Park Cheol Hee, “Factional Dynamics in Japan’s LDP Since Political Reform: Continuity and Change,” Asian Survey Vol. 41, No. 3 (2001), 428- 461. • Ellis Krauss and Robert Pekkanen, “Explaining Party Adaptation to Electoral Reform,” Journal of Japanese Studies Vol. 30 No. 1 (2004), 1-34.

Week 11 – The Era of Reform: The Rise of the DPJ

Key Questions • The defeat of the LDP & Rise of the DPJ

Required Readings • T. J. Pempel, “Between Pork and Productivity: The Collapse of the Liberal Democratic Party,” The Journal of Japanese Studies Vol. 36, No. 2 (2010), 227-254. • Ellis S. Krauss And Robert J. Pekkanen, “The Rise and Fall of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party,” Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 69, No. 1 (2010), 5–15.