This week Prime Minister Abe Shinzō criticized right-wing demonstrations in Koreatowns in Tokyo and Osaka, stating, “The Japanese way of thinking is to behave politely and to be generous and modest at any time.” While it is, of course, good that Abe made a point of criticizing hate speech, it's important to recognize that Abe …
Tag: Meiji Restoration
Regional decentralization is out of reach, for now
Bad news for Aso Taro: progress towards substantial decentralization may be impossible to realize.So says the government's Prefectural Integration Vision consultation group, which released an interim report on Monday. The whole report is available for download here, in PDF format.According to Mainichi, the group — which was formed in January 2007 under Mr. Abe — …
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Constructing modern Japan
Every social scientist must struggle with the question of human agency. Are human societies the product of grand social forces or are they the product of the decisions of individuals — Carlyle's heroes?The question is particularly important for Japan, which was pushed on to a drastically different path in the late nineteenth century when confronted …
Revision as redemption
Ozawa Ichiro, DPJ president, laid into the prime minister on TV Asahi this morning, emphasizing that he disagrees not just with the prime minister's position on constitution revision, but with the prime minister's philosophy root and branch.I'm with Ozawa on this one (and not because I work for a member of his party).Back in January, …
Revolution from below
This article at Mainichi online, on ceremonies to commemorate Northern Territories Day, caught my eye for a couple reasons.The first is that I can't help but wonder if a push to resolve longstanding territorial disputes with Russia is driven by rising fears of abandonment in the government of Japan. Outside the alliance with the US, …
Abe inaugurates "The First Year for Creating a Beautiful Country"
Political Japan's long holiday is over, as the 166th session of the Japanese Diet opened Thursday, with Prime Minister Abe delivering his policy address Friday.His address, available in English here and in Japanese here, confirms much of what I have already written about Prime Minister Abe. He even quoted Fukuzawa Yukichi, leading intellectual during the …
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Abe as oligarch?
Political Japan's long holiday is winding down, with the regular session of the Diet due to begin next week, and both the LDP and the DPJ are preparing for the session and the run-up to the July elections with conventions this week.At the LDP's convention, Abe surprised no one by declaring that he intends to …
Tobias S. Harris 