Suchergebnisse

Der Beitrag fragt nach den Rahmenbedingungen politischer Führung in Japan. Dabei stehen insbesondere die Position japanischer Premierminister und ihre durch die Institutionen und Entscheidungsprozesse des politischen Systems bestimmten politischen Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten im Vordergrund. Die Ausführungen machen deutlich, dass die Position japanischer Premierminister im Vergleich zu Regierungschefs anderer parlamentarischer Demokratien eher schwach ist. Die Ursachen für diese relative Schwäche sind in den Mechanismen politischer Entscheidungsprozesse vor allem innerhalb der langjährig allein regierenden Liberaldemokratischen Partei Japans (LDP) zu finden. Seit den 1970er Jahren versuchten japanische Premierminister durch unterschiedliche Reformanstrengungen, ihre Position zu stärken und eine aktivere Führungsrolle einzunehmen. Bislang hat jedoch vor allem der Widerstand innerhalb der LDP solchen Initiativen regelmäßig Grenzen gesetzt, so dass japanische Regierungschefs lediglich kurzfristig ihre eigene Führungsrolle ausbauen konnten, ohne nachhaltige strukturelle Veränderungen einzuleiten. Mit den von Premierminister Koizumi in den letzten Jahren eingeleiteten Reformen könnte sich dagegen ein nachhaltiger Wandel andeuten, da sie zu strukturellen Veränderungen im politischen System geführt haben. (ICG2)

Dieser Sammelband führt zunächst in naturräumliche und demografische Merkmale Japans ein. Es folgen Kapitel zur Geschichte, Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft und Politik des Landes. Die Landeskunde eignet sich als Einführung für Schüler der Oberstufe, Studierende und für allgemein an Japan Interessierte. (Andreas Ufen)

This special issue analyzes the evolving notion of Sino–Japanese rivalry and its effects on concrete foreign policy measures of both states in a global context. China's emergence as a great power and Japan's attempts to 'normalize' its foreign relations took place alongside both countries increasing their political engagement in world regions beyond Northeast Asia. As a result, there has been increasing mutual monitoring of and increasing concern expressed about the intentions and actions of the respective other on these different levels of world politics. This has largely been neglected in the literature. This special issue closes the gap in the literature by providing answers to the following questions: Is there a Sino–Japanese rivalry in the first place? Which factors define this rivalry? Are there different levels and/or kinds of rivalry? Which factors influence Sino–Japanese rivalry in different regions and on different levels of the international system? Do these factors differ across regional and institutional boundaries? Answering these questions requires us to conceptualize what is meant by rivalry as well as to focus on Sino–Japanese interaction in different world regions and on the level of international institution building. This special issue also contributes to the literature on interstate rivalry by challenging common understandings of the concept of rivalry and by adding new facets and interpretation of rivalry based on the concrete empirical cases. It will therefore provide a broadened perspective on the characteristics of Sino–Japanese relations, the mutual impacts of Japan's and China's globalizing foreign policies, and on our understanding of the determinants and mechanisms of interstate rivalries. (Pac Rev/GIGA)

"Since the end of the Cold War, Japan's security environment has changed significantly. On the global stage, while the United States is still Japan's most important security partner, the nature of the partnership has changed as a result of shifting demands from the United States, new international challenges such as the North Korean nuclear program and the rise of China. Moreover, Japan has been confronted with new, 'non-traditional' security threats such as international terrorism, the spread of infectious diseases, and global environmental threats. On the domestic level, demographic change, neo-liberal economic reforms and globalization all pose a challenge to the sustainability of the current Japanese lifestyle and have led to a heightened sense of insecurity among many Japanese. Focusing on the domestic Japanese discourse on security, this book expands the standard discussions on security that mostly focus on military security and security in international relations to include perspectives from domestic security, economic and livelihood security as well as sociological discussions of risk and risk management. The chapters cover issues such as Japan's growing perception of regional and global insecurity, the changing role of military force; the perceived risk of Chinese foreign investment; societal, cultural and labour insecurity and how it is affected by demographic changes and migration; as well as food insecurity and its challenges on health and public policy. In turn, each chapter asks how the Japanese public perceives these insecurities; how these perceptions influence the public discourse; who the main stakeholders of this discourse are; and how this affects state-society relations and decision on government policy in Japan. Governing Insecurity in Japan provides new insights into Japanese and international discourses on security, as well as the ways in which security is conceptualized in Japan. As such, it will be of huge interest to students and scholars working on Japanese politics, security studies and international relations. "--

Since the end of the Cold War, Japan's security environment has changed significantly. While, on the global level, the United States is still Japan's most important security partner, the nature of the partnership has changed as a result of shifting demands from the United States, new international challenges such as the North Korean nuclear programme and the rapid rise of China. At the same time, Japan has been confronted with new, 'non-traditional' security threats such as international terrorism, the spread of infectious diseases, and global environmental problems. On the domestic level,