Suchergebnisse

This book moves away from the common belief that Japan's international relations are firmly the preserve of the national government in Japan's highly centralised political system. Examining examples of subnational governments (SNGs) across Japan the book uncovers a significant and generally unrecognised development in Japanese politics: SNGs are ever more dynamic international actors as national borders 'weaken' across the world. Exploring what Japanese SNGs do, where they do it, and why, the book considers the implications of these factors for Japan's international relations and domestic politics. By bringing to light the scope and consequences of the international actions of Japan's SNGs, this book provides a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the country's foreign policy, at a time when it is pursuing a broader and more active profile in international affairs.

Observers of Japanese politics have generally assumed that because Japan is a unitary state, local government & its political chief executives have very little political & policy autonomy. Yet the assumption that a high degree of centralization in the political structure prevents leadership at the local level is misguided. Three case studies demonstrate that local chief executives from the peripheries are now more than ever demonstrating leadership at the local level. Local chief executives are increasingly challenging central government plans & policy priorities for local areas by setting policy agendas to follow their own vision & local needs, rather than accepting the center's fiat. Using the typology of transactional & transformational styles of leadership, this article argues that trends observed in some localities may be the harbinger of transformational leadership from the local level, as local government takes a more salient place in Japan's political system. 29 References. Adapted from the source document.

Jain reviews BUILDING A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP: Fifty Years of Indo-Japanese Relations edited by K V Kesavan with a foreword by Dr Karan Singh.

Local governance today is a contested issue worldwide. In the 1990s local or sub-national governance gained greater salience under the forces of globalisation, technological advancement, deregulation and administrative reform - all of which present enormous challenges to local communities and the ways in which they can be governed effectively. Calls for reform of Japan's political system have featured prominently throughout the 1990s, as rhetoric and, to a limited extent, as policy. In Japan's highly centralised political system, local governments have struggled for autonomy from the national government. The reform movement of the 1990s has done more than simply advance the push for greater local autonomy. It has forced local governments to begin improving their performance while taking greater responsibility for local affairs. Unlike in earlier periods, reforms from the 1990s have been simultaneously top down and bottom up.

Observers of Japanese politics have generally assumed that because Japan is a unitary state, local government and its political chief executives have very little political and policy autonomy. Yet the assumption that a high degree of centralization in the political structure prevents leadership at the local level is misguided. Three case studies demonstrate that local chief executives from the peripheries are now more than ever demonstrating leadership at the local level. Local chief executives are increasingly challenging central government plans and policy priorities for local areas by setting policy agendas to follow their own vision and local needs, rather than accepting the center's fiat. Using the typology of transactional and transformational styles of leadership, this article argues that trends observed in some localities may be the harbinger of transformational leadership from the local level, as local government takes a more salient place in Japan's political system.