PS640 POLITICS OF JAPAN

University of Wisconsin-Madison Fall 2009 M, W, F 1:20-2:10 Instructor: Kimiko Osawa Office: Room 222 North Hall Office Hours: Wednesday 2:30-3:30 and Friday 2:30-3:30 or by appointment E-mail: kosawa@wisc.edu (I will respond to your e-mails within 24 hours)

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS

This is an introductory course to Japanese politics and an opportunity for you to learn about the politics of non-US countries in depth. The goal of the course is to provide the basic information about Japanese politics (in historical and societal contexts), about arguments and analyses of various dimensions of Japanese politics made by scholars, and encourage you to find out your own interests based on the facts and arguments presented in the course and explore them further. Thus, throughout the semester, I would like to encourage you to: (1) Learn the facts and the scholars arguments about Japanese politics, (2) Learn the analytical lenses used by these scholars to study Japanese politics and their arguments, (3) Make your own analysis and arguments, incorporating (1) and (2). The content of the course is chronologically organized and divided into three sections. 1. The first section focuses on pre-1945 Japan, starting with the Meiji Restoration, when Japan started to transform itself to a modern nation-state. The purpose of this section is to provide a historical background to understand Japanese politics and society today. 2. The second section focuses on the emergence and consolidation of Japans 1955 system, a political and economic order that began with the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party. The emergence of this system, how it has operated and been legitimized, and the gradual loss of its legitimacy will be examined in this section. 3. The third section focuses on the post-1993 political disorder up until now that emerged with the end of the Liberal Democratic Partys 38 years of uninterrupted rule. The 1990s is also called the lost decade for Japanese economy, which was epitomized by the burst of bubble economy. Many social issues (such as crime, declining birth rate, and nationalism) also started to be recognized. How political actors have responded or not responded to these political, economic, and social issues will be the central theme of this last part.

By the end of this course, you should be able to Understand and remember the overall historical development of Japanese political systems. Understand and remember the political systems, how they function, and major political issues in contemporary Japan. Use Japanese politics as a comparison in analyzing other countries politics of your interest. Identify and critically analyze the different ways in which politics and other realms, such as society and history, interact. Analyze why certain things happened in Japanese politics, using political scientific frameworks.

REQUIRED READING
The following textbook is required and available at the University Bookstore. Richard J. Samuels, Machiavellis Children: Leaders and the Legacies in Italy and Japan Other readings in this syllabus are available at learn@UW. Books are also available at College Library Reserve.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Participation This is a small, upper-level undergraduate course and I expect your active involvement in our collective intellectual development. My lectures present the facts and examples of how we can analyze the ways in which Japanese politics works, to which readings can be situated. After each lecture, I will ask if you have any questions or comments. You can also ask questions during lecture, but the basic plan is to spend at least the last 10 minutes of each class for discussion of the material covered on that day. This is your opportunity to share your questions and thoughts with your fellow classmates and to contribute to our understanding of the readings, lectures, and the connections between the two. In discussion, making connections with the readings, lectures, topics discussed in the previous classes, and the comments made by others is especially helpful to you and other students. I will try to help you articulate your thoughts and explore them further. If you are a type of person who is hesitant to speak up in front of many people or if you miss the opportunity to share your thoughts in class, please visit my office hours.

Readings The readings for this class will be both long and challenging. You should complete the readings before lecture so that you can discuss them in class. Those of you with little or no experience in Japanese studies should expect to spend extra time and care, because Japanese names, places, and historical moments may be unfamiliar to you and it will take you longer to comprehend and retain what you will need in the course. My lectures will draw from the readings but they will NOT recapitulate them. I will send out reading questions for all the readings by Saturday nights. The purpose of these questions is to help you navigate through the readings by suggesting places where you want to pay attention. Of course, if you notice any other themes and issues that catch your attention while you are reading, please bring and share them with us in class. In-class Midterm Exam and Final Exam These exams are to encourage you to understand and memorize the important parts of the material (readings, lecture, current events mentioned in class, films) covered in the course up until the time of the exam and make sure you have attained correct understanding of the facts and arguments in the literature. They will consist of a combination of multiple choices, short answers and longer essays. These exams should not be too difficult as long as you keep doing what you are required to do do the readings carefully, pay attention to the lectures and discussions, read news, and watch the films. Final Exam is partly cumulative there will be more essay questions that ask you to integrate the course material covered in the entire semester. The exam is scheduled at 10:05 A.M. TUE. DEC 22. Short Discussion Papers You will write two short papers (3-4 pages, double spaced) that present your own take of the readings and lectures for the sections 2 and 3 of the course. In these papers, you are required to not only summarize the readings and lectures but present your own critical thinking of them. You can choose whichever readings or topics covered in each section. A good discussion paper should present your own arguments clearly and back them up using the material. Current Events To keep on top of events in Japan, you should be reading at least one of Americas newspapers with significant international coverage. English-language resource in Japan include: The Japan Times (www.japantimes.co.jp) English-language coverage from the left-leaning Asahi Shimbun (www.asahi.com/english). Japans most popular newspaper, the right-leaning Yomiuri Shimbuns Daily Yomiuri (http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy).
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Notes on Assignments I expect you to fulfill the requirements on or by the set dates. These deadlines will not be changed and no extension will be given on papers. However, if you have any problem that might interfere with your ability to fulfill the requirements on schedule, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss the matter. Any special treatment can be only provided with valid written documents, such as medical excuse, though. Students with disabilities that would affect their work for this course, please see me at the beginning of the semester. Grading These four requirements are counted toward your final grade. Participation (class attendance, quality of contribution) Midterm Exam Short Discussion Papers Final Exam 15% 25% 15%+15% 30%

To receive a grade, you must complete and submit all assignments. Final grades will be calculated and assessed as follows:
Letter Grade A AB B BC C D F Numerical Grade 93-100 88-92 83-87 78-82 77-70 60-69 Below 60 Description Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Marginally acceptable Minimal Pass Fail

I do my best to grade your exams and papers as quickly, accurately, and fairly as possible. However, if you believe that you have been penalized unjustly on an exam or paper, you may appeal the grade to me, according to the following rules. 1. You have to wait at least 24 hours after I have returned the exam or paper before you contact me about it. 2. You have to resubmit the entire exam and also in writing the reason you believe the grade was in error. 3. I re-evaluate the entire exam, which makes it possible that your grade will go down. The last rule is not to punish you or to even out the final grade. This is to make sure that anyone who appeals a grade really believes that they have been treated unfairly, and are not simply fishing for an extra couple of points.

Office Hours I recommend you to utilize office hours to your advantage! If you have any questions and comments about the material covered in the course and news events, which you could not present in the classroom, and if you have any concerns and questions regarding your performance in the course, if you wonder how you can write discussion papers or prepare for the exams, or if you simply want to chat about Japanese politics, please come see me. Academic Honesty and Courtesy in Classroom Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. Students found cheating on exams, recycling the work of others, taking materials from print or electronic sources without giving proper credit will fail the course without exception. My commitment is to create a climate for learning characterized by intellectual diversity and a respect for each other and the contributions each person makes to class. I ask that you make a similar commitment. - No cell phone. They should be firmly put inside of your bags. Turn it off before the class starts. - Do not engage in any activity that are irrelevant to the class. Do not use laptop computers for the activities unrelated to the class. When I find you doing any of these, I will ask you to leave the room and you will be marked absent for that day. - Please be courteous to your classmates and me. We can disagree, but do so in a civilized manner. Presenting your opinions/arguments/comments/questions properly and disagreeing with others in a constructive manner is also an important training you can undertake while you are in college.

COURSE SCHEDULE
September 2: Course Introduction (No Reading)

1. Historical Roots: The Prewar State and The Occupation

September 4: Discussion of the election results Read newspapers and bring information about the election results September 7: No Class Labor Day! September 9: Prelude to Meiji Decay and Decline of Tokugawa Bakufu Eiko Ikegami, The Taming of the Samurai, Ch11: The Vendetta of the Forty-Seven Samurai Robert Hellyer, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Sakoku Theme in Japanese Foreign Relations: 1600-2000

September 11: Meiji Restoration 1 Richard J. Samuels, Machiavellis Children, Introduction, and pp.49-62 September 14: Meiji Restoration 2 Samuels, Machiavellis Children, p.32-37 September 16: The rise and fall of Japans prewar proto democracy 1 Samuels, Machiavellis Children, pp.102-105, 114-119 September 18: The rise and fall of Japans prewar proto democracy 2 Samuels, Machiavellis Children, pp.78-85, 126-133, 140-150 September 21 : The Occupation and Postwar Reforms 1 John Dower, Embracing Defeat, Ch7: Embracing Revolution September 23: The Occupation and Postwar Reforms 2 Samuels, Machiavellis Children, pp.200-211 September 25: Catch-up and Discussion

2. The 1955 System

September 28: What is the 1955 System? Samuels, Machiavellis Children, pp225-249 Masumi Junnosuke, The 1955 System: Origin and Transformation in Kataoka Tetsuya ed. Creating Single-Party Democracy: Japans Postwar Political System September 30: The 1960s crisis and consolidation of the conservative rule T. J. Pempel, Regime Shift, pp.103-110 October 2: Parliamentary System and Electoral System (No Reading) October 5: LDP and Electoral System Gerald Curtis, The Japanese Way of Politics, Ch3: The Liberal Democratic Party: The Organization of Political Power Masaru Kohno, Japans Postwar Party Politics, Ch6: The Evolution of the LDPs Intraparty Politics October 7: Opposition parties in the 1955 system Masaru Kohno, Why Didnt the Japanese Socialists Moderate Their Policies Much Earlier to Become a Viable Alternative to the Liberal Democratic Party? in Political Science as Puzzle Solving

October 9: Bureaucrats vs. Politicians Chalmers Johnson, Japan: Who Governs? An Essay on Official Bureaucracy J. Mark Ramseyer and Frances McCall Rosenbluth, Japans Political Marketplace, Ch7: Bureaucratic Manipulation October 12: Legitimating the Political System I: Labor Sheldon Garon, Molding Japanese Minds, Ch5: Re-creating the Channels of Moral Suasion October 14: Legitimating the Political System II: Class and Nation William W. Kelly, Finding a Place in Metropolitan Japan in Postwar Japan as History October 16: Legitimating the Political System III: Nation, National Purpose and Nationalism David Leheny, The Rules of Play, pp.73-91; 175-182 Ian Buruma, The Wages of Guilt, pp.189-201; 219-232 October 19: Gender in the 1955 System Robin LeBlanc, Bicycle Citizens, Ch5: Toward a Housewifely Movement October 21: Catch up and Discussion October 23: Midterm Exam

3. Political Realignment and Economic Stagnation in the 1990s Social Changes, Reform, New Politics?
October 26: Cracks in the System 1 Richard Katz, Japan: The System That Soured, Ch7: The System Sours October 28: Cracks in the System 2 T.J. Pempel, Regime Shift, Ch5: Japan in the 1990s: Fragmented Politics and Economic Turmoil October 30: The Split and the Fall of the LDP Gerald Curtis, The Logic of Japanese Politics, Ch2: The End of One-Party Dominance November 2: New Electoral System and the LDP Ellis Krauss and Robert Pekkanen, Explaining Party Adaptation to Electoral Reform: The Discreet Charm of the LDP? November 4: Opposition Parties [First Discussion Paper Due in Class] Ethan Scheiner, Democracy without Competition in Postwar Japan, Ch5: Local Opposition Failure
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November 6 and 9: Film Campaign November 11: Vague Anxiety in the 1990s David Leheny, Think Global, Fear Local, Ch2: A Vague Anxiety in 1990s Japan Tomiko Yoda, A Roadmap to Millennial Japan, in Japan after Japan November 13: Social Changes 1 Changing Lifestyles William Kelly and Merry White, Students, Slackers, Singles, Seniors, and Strangers: Transforming a Family-Nation, in Beyond Japan November 16: Social Changes 2 Civil Society Robert Pekkanen, Japans New Politics: The Case of the NPO Law Simon Andrew Avenell, Civil Society and the New Civic Movements in Contemporary Japan: Convergence, Collaboration, and Transformation November 18: Social Changes 3 Rising Nationalism Matthew Penney and Bryce Wakefield, Right Angles: Examining Accounts of Japanese Neo-Nationalism November 20: The New Conservatism in Politics Samuels, Machiavellis Children, pp.326-343 November 23: Rethinking Security and Article 9 David Leheny, Think Global, Fear Local, Ch6: Self-Fulfilling Afterthought November 25: Discussion of current events attendance optional, but counted as the bonus participation grade November 27 No Class Thanks Giving! November 30: Economic Reform Leonard J. Schoppa, Japan: The Reluctant Reformer December 2: The Koizumi revolution 1 mass media and politics Ellis S. Krauss and Benjamin Nyblade, Presidentialization in Japan? The Prime Minister, Media, and Elections in Japan Ikuo Kabashima and Gill Steel, How Junichiro Koizumi Seized the Leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party December 4: The Koizumi revolution 2 centralization of the LDP Margarita Estevez-Abe, Japans Shift Toward a Westminster System: A Structural Analysis of the 2005 Lower House Election and its Aftermath Patrick Kollner, The Liberal Democratic Party at 50

December 7: The Koizumi revolution 3 postal savings reform Jennifer Amyx, Harukata Takenaka, A. Maria Toyoda, The Politics of Postal Savings Reform in Japan December 9: Post-Koizumi Japanese politics Reading TBA December 11:Catch-up and Discussion December 14: Concluding Lecture and Review for the Final Exam December 17: Second Discussion Paper due by NOON in my mailbox (Room 101 North Hall) December 22: Final Exam from 10:05 A.M.