ACCIDENTAL ACTIVISTS: HOW VICTIM GROUPS HOLD THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE IN JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA By Celeste Louise Arrington A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Steven K. Vogel, Chair Professor T.J. Pempel Professor Ron E. Hassner Professor Kim Voss (sociology) Fall 2010 ACCIDENTAL ACTIVISTS: HOW VICTIM GROUPS HOLD THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE IN JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA © 2010 By: Celeste Louise Arrington ABSTRACT Accidental Activists: How Victim Groups Hold the Government Accountable in Japan and South Korea by Celeste Louise Arrington Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Steven K. Vogel, Chair Scholars suggest that we are experiencing an “age of apology,” as governments atone for past wrongs and citizens hold their leaders more accountable. Yet why would a government ever apologize and grant redress for harmful policies? Since policy-makers are usually loath to admit mistakes or wrongdoing, the people harmed sometimes must engage in collective action to obtain redress. Government responses to such victim groups range from comprehensive redress to negotiated settlements, in which the state disavows any responsibility for the victimization. Redress may come rapidly to some but take decades for others. What explains such differences in the extent and timing of state responsiveness to victim groups’ demands for redress? Victim redress organizations lack the standard resources needed to influence policy- makers: money, access, and votes. Understanding why victims can be powerful requires determining when they are more or less powerful. This study finds that the mode of conflict expansion—the way in which marginalized victim groups gain support from the public and political elites—explains the level of redress that victims receive. Surprisingly, it is not when groups have access that they are most successful, but rather when they expand the arena of conflict by using their victimhood to shame the government and gain the public’s empathy. As “accidental activists,” therefore, victims’ very weakness is their strength. This project uses paired in-depth case studies to examine how state responsiveness to victim movements differs cross-nationally and across issue areas. Japan and Korea represent interesting contexts in which to examine victim redress politics because these historically “strong states,” with insulated policy-making processes, seem unlikely to admit blame, especially to outsiders like victims. This study compares paired victim movements in three issue areas where similar victimization occurred in both Japan and Korea, related to a) the treatment of persons affected by Hansen’s disease (leprosy), b) hepatitis C infections from tainted blood products, and c) the abductions of Japanese and South Korean nationals by North Korea. The cross-national comparison reveals that victim groups in Japan generally receive more comprehensive redress than Korean victim groups. Filter groups, such as non-victim activists and the media, facilitate conflict expansion to a greater extent in Japan than in Korea. Across issue areas, conflict expansion dynamics also account for within-country variations in state responsiveness. The study of victim redress politics suggests more broadly that politics is becoming more open in Japan and Korea, but in markedly different ways. These cases further indicate that the judicial route is more open to grievance groups in both countries, but that the resources to effectively utilize the judicial channel are more widely available in Japan than in Korea. The varying success of redress movements sheds light on accountability mechanisms and the balance of power in state-society relations in East Asia’s main democracies. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents i List of Figures and Tables ii Acknowledgments iii Chapter 1 Introduction: The Power of Victims 1 Chapter 2 Mobilizing Victimhood: Turning Weakness into Strength 23 Chapter 3 The National Context of Victim Politics in Japan and Korea 44 Chapter 4 Comprehensive Redress: Japanese Victim Movements 65 Chapter 5 The Limits of Access: Korean Victims’ Quests for Redress 95 Chapter 6 The Constraints on State Responsiveness 131 Chapter 7 Conclusion: Victimhood and Accountability Politics 166 Bibliography 182 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Turning a Private Grievance into a Public Issue Figure 3.1 Sources of Information on the Central Government Figure 3.2 Consumption of Public Broadcasting TV News Figure 6.1 Japanese Public Concern for DPRK-Related Topics over Time LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Levels of State Responsiveness Table 1.2 Modes of Conflict Expansion and the State Responsiveness they tend to Induce Table 1.3 Summary of Overall Findings (from most to least successful movements) Table 2.1 The Dimensions of Tactics Table 4.1 Number of New Plaintiffs at each Stage of the Three Hansen’s Disease Lawsuits Table 4.2 Summary Chart of the Key Decisions Leading to Comprehensive Redress Table 5.1 HCV Infection Rates in Korea in 2008 Table 5.2 Signatures Collected to Petition the Japanese Government to Grant Compensation to Colonial-Era Victims Table 5.3 Summary Chart of the Key Decisions Comprising Partial Redress or Settlement Table 5.4 Survey of the Hansen’s disease Community on Revision of the Special Law Table 6.1 Types of State Responsibility for the Victimization Table 6.2 The North Korean Abductions at a Glance Table 6.3 Summary Chart of the Key Decisions Leading to Partial Redress ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely grateful to my committee members—Steve Vogel, T.J. Pempel, Ron Hassner, and Kim Voss. I am deeply indebted to Steve for his clear, incisive, and patient feedback throughout. I learned a tremendous amount from him and his unparalleled dedication to teaching and advising. No matter where in the world we met, T.J. was always supportive and challenged me to take my scholarship in fruitful directions. His big-picture view and deep knowledge of Japanese and Korean politics provided me with a welcome sounding board. I first approached the themes of redress and reconciliation under Ron’s tutelage and greatly appreciate his enthusiasm and optimism throughout my graduate career. Kim’s probing questions and encouragement at key stages of the process were invaluable, and I am thankful for her advice. I also wish to thank the many scholars who influenced my own scholarly development in different ways. I owe my interest in Japan and Korea to them, but Gil Rozman and Kent Calder, my undergraduate advisors, also steered me in useful directions while I was in the field. Chris Ansell and Nick Ziegler provided insightful guidance in the formative stages of this project. I am grateful for the institutional homes and friendly advice that Hiwatari Nobuhiro gave me at Shaken in Japan and that Lee Sook-jong and Park Chung-hee provided in Seoul. My argument benefited from discussions with Steve Reed (and his zemi), John Campbell, Robert Dujarric, Robert Pekkanen, and the Ph.D. study group in Tokyo. Dick Samuels generously commented on two chapters in the final stages. I am grateful for funding from the FLAS program, the NSEP Boren Fellowship, UC Berkeley, IEAS and CJS, the Harvey Fellowship, and a Fulbright grant. My research would not have been possible without the generosity of so many Japanese and Korean respondents. In particular, in Japan, I would like to thank Yamamoto Shimpei, Kitano Ryuichi, Sakaue Naoko, Kamiya Setsuko, Katahira Kiyohiko, Horie Masahiro, Esashi Masayoshi, Iwasawa Michihiko, Yamaguchi Michiko, and Yahiro Mitsuhide. In Korea, I would particularly like to thank Koo Byeong-sam, Kim Jae-hyung, Lim Seong-a, O Ha-na, Kim Yeong- ro, Choi Woo-young, U Heong-seon, Park Chan-un, Cho Yong-geol, and Kim Yong-hwan. All of these people and others shared much of their time to help me understand victim politics. I thank my friends around the world and my colleagues in graduate school, who helped at many different points and kept me sane. I am indebted in countless ways to Margaret Boittin, Oh Seung-youn, Choi Shin-hye, Rosie Hsueh, Ken Haig, Rachel Stern, Jennifer Dixon, Kim Sunil, Kenji Kushida, Kristi Govella, Ivo Plesk, Matt Grossman, Sakaiya Shiro, and Christine Yong. Margaret and Sunil graciously commented on parts of my final draft. The kind hospitality of Seung-youn’s family in Seoul meant that I learned a lot of Korean, had wonderful conversations, and had a friendly place to stay every time I went to Korea. My Japanese friends Ogahara Chihiro, Kaori, and Mei taught me more about Japan than anyone and were gracious hosts. I particularly want to thank my dissertation writing group members, Danielle Lussier and Crystal Chang, who have read every word of this dissertation multiple times. Without their deadlines and comments, I could not have finished. Any remaining flaws are my responsibility. My family inspired many parts of this dissertation and always reminded me that there is more to life than my studies. My father first introduced me to hemophilia and the suffering of that community, and answered all my medical queries. My grandfather inspired my research on Hansen’s disease, since he had been a pathologist at Carville in the 1950s. My mother heroically proofread my entire dissertation. I thank the rest of my entire family for the unceasing support. Most importantly, I wish to thank my husband, Nathan, who held me accountable at all times. Without his patient support this dissertation would never have been written. ! iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF VICTIMS INTRODUCTION Why would a government ever apologize and grant redress for past wrongs? Large organizations like governments, where individuals can pass along blame, tend to avoid accepting responsibility for bad outcomes. Also, governments can avoid blame because they are much more powerful than victims of state policies.