Japanese Politics and Foreign Relations

Author: Xu Wansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Specifically, the book is divided into two parts (Chapters 1 to 3) to discuss Japan's political structure, and the second part (Chapters 4 to 7) to discuss Japan's foreign relations.
Chapter 1 is titled "Political System," primarily discussing: the process of the post-war Japanese Constitution's creation and its main content, constitutional amendment trends in Japanese politics; the historical evolution of the imperial system, the legal status of the emperor and imperial succession, the actual role and influence of the emperor in contemporary Japanese politics; the status and composition of the Diet, the powers of the Diet, the convening and sessions of the Diet, and legislative processes. The formation and powers of the Cabinet, the organizational structure of the Cabinet and its reforms; courts, judges, the hierarchical system of courts, and trial procedures.
Chapter 2 is titled "Party Politics and Party System," primarily discussing the restoration and development of post-war Japanese party politics, analyzing the one-party dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party (1955–1993), and outlining the transformation of Japan's party system after the Cold War. It also explores the interrelationship between religion and Japanese party politics.
Chapter 3 is titled "Political Participation," primarily analyzing post-war Japanese politics from the perspective of political process theory, discussing the evolution of electoral systems and the voting behavior of Japanese voters, the types of interest groups and their methods and roles in political participation, as well as an overview of social media and post-war Japanese public opinion politics.
Chapter 4 is titled "Foreign Policy Axis: The Japan-U.S. Alliance," first summarizing the evolution of Japan-U.S. relations during the Cold War, then elaborating on the development and trends of the Japan-U.S. alliance after the Cold War, and analyzing the new adjustments of the Japan-U.S. alliance after the "9·11" attacks.
Chapter 5 is titled "Policy Toward China and Sino-Japanese Relations," first summarizing the evolution of Japan's policy toward China and Sino-Japanese relations, then exploring from the perspective of Chinese scholars how to build a Sino-Japanese relationship for the 21st century, and discussing the energy issue in current Sino-Japanese relations.
Chapter 6 is titled "Economic Diplomacy," outlining the basis of Japanese government development aid and arguing how Japan uses economic aid in the field of international political security, forming what is known as "strategic aid," and conducting a comprehensive analysis of Japan's aid to China.
Chapter 7 is titled "Other Foreign Relations," primarily discussing Japan's United Nations diplomacy, Japan's foreign relations with Southeast Asian countries, and how Japan responds to regional economic cooperation in East Asia.