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The authors argue that with the election of the Abe Government in December 2012, Japanese politics has entered a radically new phase they describe as the “2012 Political System.” The system began with the return to power of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), after three years in opposition, but in a much stronger electoral position than previous LDP-based administrations in earlier decades. Moreover, with the decline of previously endemic intra-party factionalism, the LDP has united around an essentially nationalist agenda never absent from the party’s ranks, but in the past was generally blocked, or modified, by factions of more liberal persuasion. Opposition weakness following the severe defeat of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration in 2012 has also enabled the Abe Government to establish a political stability largely lacking since the 1990s.
The first four chapters deal with Japanese political development since 1945 and factors leading to the emergence of Abe Shinzō as Prime Minister in 2012. Chapter 5 examines the Abe Government’s flagship economic policy, dubbed “Abenomics.” The authors then analyse four highly controversial objectives promoted by the Abe Government: revision of the 1947 ‘Peace Constitution’; the introduction of a Secrecy Law; historical revision, national identity and issues of war apology; and revised constitutional interpretation permitting collective defence. In the final three chapters they turn to foreign policy, first examining relations with China, Russia and the two Koreas, second Japan and the wider world, including public diplomacy, economic relations and overseas development aid, and finally, the vexed question of how far Japanese policies are as reactive to foreign pressure.
In the Conclusion, the authors ask how far right wing trends in Japan exhibit common causality with shifts to the right in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. They argue that although in Japan immigration has been a relatively minor factor, economic stagnation, demographic decline, a sense of regional insecurity in the face of challenges from China and North Korea, and widening gaps in life chances, bear comparison with trends elsewhere. Nevertheless, they maintain that “[a] more sane regional future may be possible in East Asia.”
The authors argue that with the election of the Abe Government in December 2012, Japanese politics has entered a radically new phase they describe as the “2012 Political System.” The system began with the return to power of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), after three years in opposition, but in a much stronger electoral position than previous LDP-based administrations in earlier decades. Moreover, with the decline of previously endemic intra-party factionalism, the LDP has united around an essentially nationalist agenda never absent from the party’s ranks, but in the past was generally blocked, or modified, by factions of more liberal persuasion. Opposition weakness following the severe defeat of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration in 2012 has also enabled the Abe Government to establish a political stability largely lacking since the 1990s.
The first four chapters deal with Japanese political development since 1945 and factors leading to the emergence of Abe Shinzō as Prime Minister in 2012. Chapter 5 examines the Abe Government’s flagship economic policy, dubbed “Abenomics.” The authors then analyse four highly controversial objectives promoted by the Abe Government: revision of the 1947 ‘Peace Constitution’; the introduction of a Secrecy Law; historical revision, national identity and issues of war apology; and revised constitutional interpretation permitting collective defence. In the final three chapters they turn to foreign policy, first examining relations with China, Russia and the two Koreas, second Japan and the wider world, including public diplomacy, economic relations and overseas development aid, and finally, the vexed question of how far Japanese policies are as reactive to foreign pressure.
In the Conclusion, the authors ask how far right wing trends in Japan exhibit common causality with shifts to the right in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. They argue that although in Japan immigration has been a relatively minor factor, economic stagnation, demographic decline, a sense of regional insecurity in the face of challenges from China and North Korea, and widening gaps in life chances, bear comparison with trends elsewhere. Nevertheless, they maintain that “[a] more sane regional future may be possible in East Asia.”
Chapter 1: Peace, Democracy and Economic Growth: Political Economy
under the Postwar Dispensation
Chapter 2: The System Begins to Change: From the 1990s to 2009
Chapter 3: The Opposition in Power: September 2009 to December
2012
Chapter 4: Abe Takes Charge: From December 2012
Chapter 5: Abenomics
Chapter 6: Revising and Reinterpreting the 1947 Constitution
Chapter 7: The Designated Secrets Law and Freedom of Speech
Chapter 8: Historical Revisionism, National Identity, and War
Apology
Chapter 9: Legislating for Collective Defense by Fiat: The Realist
View of Japan as a Normal Country
Chapter 10: Japan and Its Neighbors: China, Russia and the Two
Koreas
Chapter 11: Japan and the Wider World: Public Diplomacy, Economic
Relations and Overseas Development Aid
Chapter 12: Japan: Reactionary State?
Arthur Stockwin is retired professor of modern Japanese studies at
the University of Oxford.
Kweku Ampiah is associate professor of Japanese studies at the
University of Leeds.
Stockwin and Ampiah do an excellent job providing historical and
political context to several of the debates currently animating
Japanese politics. . . . this is a book that outlines and provides
historical context to many of the most important issues facing
Japan today. It would be useful as a textbook in courses on the
politics of Japan, politics in East Asia, and/or the comparative
politics of advanced industrialized states, and would also be
useful to those wanting thoughtful background on the challenges
currently facing Japanese democracy.
*Pacific Affairs*
Rethinking Japan argues that the changes taking place in Japan in
the second half of the twenty-first century are of ‘seminal
importance.’ The authors’ sustained analysis of the emergence and
consolidation of the right wing in Japan confirms this assessment.
The book sets its rise in the context of the Liberal Democratic
Party's fall from power at the hands of the opposition and the
party's return to government in the wake of its defeat at the
polls. This study is particularly impressive in offering concrete
details and a convincing explanation for the policies of the
current Shinzō Abe administration. The authors are to be
congratulated for producing a work that should find a place on the
bookshelves of all those with an interest in Japanese politics.
*Glenn D. Hook, University of Sheffield*
Democracy is currently facing challenges all over the world from
political outsiders who appeal to public sentiment and exaggerate
or lie to attack opponents. Shinzō Abe turns out to be the
forerunner of this trend, and Japanese politics in the coming years
will reach a democratic crisis. In Rethinking Japan: The Politics
of Contested Nationalism, Arthur Stockwin and Kweku Ampiah provide
a meaningful contribution not only to Japanese studies but also to
comparative politics.
*Jirō Yamaguchi, Hosei University*
This book is essential reading for understanding contemporary Japan
and the reality behind the headlines. Abenomics has entered the
global lexicon as an ambitious program of economic rejuvenation,
but here we learn how and why it has failed by widening disparities
while avoiding substantive reforms. The authors explain in an
engaging style how it has served as a distraction from more
controversial policies of revising the constitution, easing
constraints on the military, and rehabilitating the wartime past,
an agenda that doesn’t resonate with most Japanese. These pages are
brimming with insiders’ insights that help readers delve into the
socioeconomic issues that confronting Japan and how the Japanese
are responding. In doing so, this book helps to dismantle
stereotypes of a harmonious society of deferential citizens.
*Jeff Kingston, Temple University, Japan Campus*
Combining deep knowledge of postwar Japan with up-to-date analyses
of the developments since Prime Minister Abe’s return to power in
December 2012, this study places the ‘2012 political system’ in its
historical context and convincingly makes the case for the need to
‘rethink Japan’ as it has become more assertive under a radical
right-wing government. This is the most comprehensive study of
contemporary Japanese politics under the Abe government in any
language to date and covers a wide range of topics, including
Abenomics, the constitution, historical revisionism, and foreign
and security policy. Balanced and fair, with ample documentation of
opinions and arguments presented by both the government and its
critics, this book will satisfy the interest and curiosity of
academics, students, and general readers.
*Koichi Nakano, Sophia University*
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