Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Tokyo (japan), politics and government'

A large majority of the members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan belong to one or other of its factions, the bodies which dominate the party today. In 1987, when the fieldwork for this study was carried out, there were five factions in number. This thesis examines and analyzes the contemporary structural organization and membership of one of them, the Miki/K5moto faction, after presenting a systematic account of its history. This political grouping was investigated from the inside; as an observer, the writer was able to acquire material through direct interaction with members of the faction in their daily routine. Including the introduction and conclusion, eight chapters make up this thesis. Two of them are devoted to the history of the faction, which is chronicled by taking the career of Miki Takeo, the founder, as the central theme. One chapter is concerned with the organization of the faction, and the roles and functions of the members. The relationships among faction members and their connections with outside individuals and groups are the subjects of scrutiny for the fifth and sixth chapters respectively. Chapter seven, on finance, investigates the methods by which the faction as a group and single members of it raise and distribute money. Some of the conclusions drawn in the thesis are specific to the faction; others relate to the wider phenomenon of factionalism inside the party.

The cold war which dominated the foreign policies of most of the world's industrialised nations has ended. Japan, as an economic superpower, one of the three economic poles of the post-cold-war world, with a huge interest in its stability and prosperity, has a foreign policy approach inappropriate to a country of such regional and global prominence. In the first major foreign policy crisis of the new world order, the Gulf Crisis of 1990- 1991, Japan was immobilised by deficiencies in its political system, a lack of appreciation among its leaders and populace of where its national interests lay, and the peculiar constraints of its“national Constitution. This sub-thesis explores the way in which Japan's capability to contribute to the new world order is constrained by its political structure, national strategy, constitutional limits, and regional conditions. Chapter One examines the way in which Japan's political structure constrains the country's capability for contributing to the new world order by producing a diffusion of power, a diffusion of responsibility for policy development and implementation, and an absence of competition for power on the basis of policy difference. Chapter Two examines the way in which Japan is hindered from contributing to international order by its pursuit of short term economic goals at the expense of bringing to its dealings with the external world a well-defined sense of national interest. Chapter Three examines the limitations that the Peace Constitution places on Japan by excluding a security role from its international contributions. Chapter Four examines the factors constraining Japan from greater involvement in the increasingly interdependent Asia-Pacific region.

Economic development is a major concern to the majority of countries in the world today as they strive to catch up to the industrial West. Japan has been the most successful non-Western country in building an economy which qualifies it as developed. Most studies of economic development in Japan focus on macro-level issues, particularly on analysis of the role government played in the development process. It is generally recognized that Japan's central government played a major role in fostering industrial development. It is unfortunate that this fairly centralized political structure has somewhat obscured the role that local government may have had in helping local economies grow. In a sense, these local development efforts were at least as important as what was going on at the national level, because if peripheral areas had not developed at all, they would have become a liability for the central government and the core areas. This study examines one particular aspect of the development process in Japan; specifically, local government's role in fostering economic development throughout the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras. The silk industry in Shimane prefecture provides the context of the case study approach used. The analysis focuses on two key issues: the mechanisms used by local government and the impact of growth on the local silk industry and on the standard of living.

This thesis is exploring interactions of Japanese NGOs to be influential in official foreign aid from outside of the exclusive Japanese decision-making process. Three case studies have been undertaken to examine how Japanese NGOs have developed or adopted various means to exert influence on the government. Japanese NGOs have emerged as powerful actors in foreign aid under a policy of "Kao no Mieru Enjyo (visible Japanese aid)" in the 1990s following some domestic incidents and an international trend in development. However, the Japanese government has maintained a hostile attitude toward NGOs despite its official claim of regarding NGOs as 'partners'. The government's awkward reaction to NGOs comes from Japan's traditional idea of extreme respect for the government and looking down on citizenry. This traditional political culture of "Kan Son Min Pi (supremacy of bureaucracy)" has dominated Japan and that has made the government hostile to powerful outsiders such as NGOs, which may threaten their supremacy. The exclusive decision-making system, "the Iron Triangle", has also contributed to distance NGOs from the government. By this means, an atmosphere between NGOs and the government in Japan has been far from 'partnership'. Against this hostile environment, Japanese NGOs have developed and adopted interactions to exert influence. Various means have been used by each NGO in accordance with each speciality and operation field. The thesis has focused on three areas of Japan's foreign aid - development, anti-personnel landmines and environment - and undertaken three case studies. Four NGOs have been analysed - Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), Japanese Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL), Greenpeace Japan and Friends of the Earth (FoE) Japan. Some NGOs have developed their own interactions and others have been adopted from international partners and authorities. On a whole, they have all crafted these interactions to suit the Japanese political culture. Among several interactions, building international networks and personal relationships with powerful individuals such as politicians have appeared to be most useful. These two interactions work effectively on Japan's reactive and highly personalised aspects of politics, which is reactive to external pressure (Gai-atsu) and rely heavily on the personality and ability of individual leaders. The case studies reveal that Japanese NGOs have exerted influence effectively by making use of these valuable interactions. However, Japanese NGOs are at a crossroad because of high turn-over of staff and a focus-shifting in Japan's foreign policy to sending Self-Defence Forces (SDF) overseas. NGOs also need to obtain solid financial source which is getting difficult after a downturn in the Japanese economy. These will be the issues that Japanese NGOs need to tackle soon in order to be true 'partner'.

In 1996, a new left of centre party emerged in Japan called the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and effectively replaced the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) as the main opposition party. This thesis asks what conditions caused this realignment and how the DPJ differs from the JSP. An increasing distrust and disinterest of politics and politicians has meant that the non-aligned voter in Japan forms the largest group of the electorate. Every party has lost support, but the left faced the worst drop of support. With the end of the Cold War, and the intensifying call for Japan to reassess its role on the World stage, the traditional ideology of the Japanese left, which has become synonymous with peace and preservation of the Peace Constitution, has lost its stabilising effect on the party and on its supporters. The labour unions, which were once the key mobilisational force for the left-wing parties at election time, began to question their relationship with the JSP and found new links to government. Simultaneously, they were also losing members so mobilisation of voters for the left also declined. Finally, a new electoral system did not reward the opposition as much as the LDP. Overall, the mobilisation of the electorate has become increasingly difficult for the Japanese left as a result of these factors. The DPJ has had to find ways of dealing with them and also has had to create its own identity. The way in which the party has dealt with this is by 'widening out' its types of candidate and using new methods to attract support. Furthermore, the DPJ has become more aware of its party coherence and has ensured that party unity is maintained even when ideological disputes occur.

Le gouverneur japonais (chiji) est l’exécutif en chef du département, la plus grande division administrative au Japon. Conçue pendant l'ère Meiji comme l'un des principaux outils du contrôle central sur le Japon local, cette fonction a été radicalement modifiée après l'introduction de l'élection au suffrage universel direct comme nouveau mode de désignation par les forces d’Occupation dans la période de l'après-guerre. A la connexion entre le niveau national et local, et légitimé par le suffrage populaire, le gouverneur est doté de larges pouvoirs dans le système de gouvernement local japonais. Ces conditions ont permis de renforcer le leadership politique d’un gouverneur muni d'une forte autorité sur le département, tout en étant en contact direct avec le gouvernement central, en tant qu’exécutif en chef de la plus haute division locale du Japon. De nombreuses caractéristiques de la fonction (le succès électoral des bureaucrates et la relation particulière avec les partis politiques notamment) sont toutefois les résultats d’un phénomène de « dépendance au sentier » (path-dependence), peu à peu remodelées sous l’effet des frictions produites par les réformes décentralisatrices de la période de l'Occupation dans un cadre encore largement centralisateur.Sur la base de travaux de recherche à la fois quantitatifs et qualitatifs, cette étude analyse la transformation de la fonction de gouverneur au cours de l'après-guerre d'une position bureaucratique à une charge politique, ses évolutions et les conséquences de celles-ci sur la politique japonaise au niveau local et national
The Japanese governor (chiji) is the executive head of the prefecture, the largest administrative division in Japan. Conceived during the Meiji as one of the main tools of the central control on local Japan, this position was been radically modified after the introduction of direct election by the Allied Occupation authority in the post-war period. At the connection between the national and local level, and legitimized by public election, the governor is endowed with substantial powers in the Japanese local government system. These conditions have strengthened the capacity of local leadership of the governor provided with a strong authority over the prefecture. Numerous characteristics of the position, the success of bureaucrats and the particular relation with political parties notably, are however path-dependent elements, gradually reshaped by the frictions produced by the reforms of the Occupation period. Based on both quantitative and qualitative research works, this study analyses the transformation of the post-war governorship from a bureaucratic position to a political office, its evolution and its consequences on Japanese politics at both local and national level

The postwar transformation of the international environment has caused economic issues to become a main source of contention among industrial states. The trade imbalance between Japan and its trading partners became a major source of conflict. Reciprocity of access and opening the market of Japan became the main point of debate and the major issue affecting relations between Japan and the United States. While the distinction between the domain of domestic and international politics increasingly is blurred, different domestic political economies create bilateral political and economic conflict. The structure and politics of intercorporate groups or vertical keiretsu are a major feature of Japan's industrial structure and political economy. This case study examines how vertical keiretsu in the automobile and home electric appliance industries affect the Japanese political economy and international trade. A political economy approach focuses on the political context of economic phenomena by analyzing both political and economic variables. Case studies of keiretsu were used in order to gain an understanding of Japan's political economy. A number of propositions or assumptions about the political economy and the dynamics of keiretsu were examined in these studies. It was found that vertical keiretsu influences the industrial sector, trade, and foreign policies in Japan. Japan's industrial policies cannot fully be understood without taking keiretsu into consideration. Scholars have not yet fully considered vertical keiretsu as major actors in the Japanese political process. Their political influence on industrial policies has largely been overlooked. Vertical keiretsu in the automobile and home electric appliance industries were found in the case studies to have been shaping industrial policies since the early post war years. Findings about the nature of Japan's political economy help to explain the conflictive bilateral relationships between Japan and the United States. The findings also show that understanding political economies of nations is increasingly important as the world economy grows and greater trade interaction is imminent.

Abstract The emergence of a cabinet and political parties that could be called democratic was one of the focal objectives for the Allied Occupation of Japan that lasted from 1945 until 1952. Cooperation with the local political actors was also necessitated by the model of indirect rule through domestic institutions that was adopted. The occupation authorities were actively seeking suitable political leadership to govern Japan and were ready to intervene in the development of Japan’s domestic politics for the sake of achieving their goals. Great efforts were, however, made not to distract the democratic façade that covered the undemocratic and non-transparent behind-the-scenes orders. It was important to make the selection of the new political leadership to appear as something that originated from the freely expressed will of the Japanese people. This dissertation offers the first narrative identifying and analyzing the characteristics of the occupation authorities’ policy concerning the Japanese conservatives at the beginning of the occupation. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the planning period’s influence on the actual occupation policy and introduces a wartime discussion concerning the Japanese conservatives. The process of sorting out the most suitable Japanese leaders in 1942 –1947 can be divided into several phases. What was considered suitable varied during different times, but what was expected from the suitable Japanese leadership remained rather unchanged. The planners of the occupation looked for moderate conservatives: who were to be thanked for Japan’s prewar steps toward democracy; who were not to be blamed for the war; and who were to help in the reconstruction process. At the beginning of the occupation, the occupation authorities sought for cooperative conservative statesmen who would be ready to follow the wishes of the occupier and yet claim the reforms as their own initiatives. After the first postwar general election in April 1946 this rule had to be connected with the conservative parties. Finally, the occupation authorities began to search for suitable middle-of-the-road conservatives who could, together with the right-wing of the Socialist Party, to continue the previous cabinet’s work while ensuring the social stability and the success of reforms in the changing situation.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves [56]-[62]) Focusses on issues concerning the U.S. military presence on the island. Elaborates on Okinawa's suffering due to the military bases which have hindered Okinawa's economic development, created serious pollution and encouraged crime

This thesis examines the deep bilateral tensions surrounding the East China Sea (ECS) disagreements between Japan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the period from August 19th 2003 to June 18th 2008 from an actor-centred constructivist liberal viewpoint. The East China Sea disputes could be described as a conflicting difference of opinion over a) the demarcation of maritime territory and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in which potentially significant energy deposits exist and b) the ownership of the strategically important and historically sensitive Pinnacle (Senkaku/Diaoyu) Islands. This research addresses the question of why, given the fact that China and Japan have a strong interest in co-operation and stable relations with each other, small incidents in the ECS blow up into larger problems, cause approaches to the East China Sea to wax and wane, and move the relationship in a direction that goes against preferred national objectives? In attempting to unravel this puzzle, this work argues that domestic politics and popular negative sentiment have been the major issues that have greatly amplified and politicised the ECS problems and have significantly affected positive progress in negotiations aimed at managing and stabilising these disputes. By examining these, the thesis addresses the question of why China and Japan have been so constrained in their attempts to find a workable bilateral agreement over disputed energy resources and demarcation in the East China Sea. It also indirectly deals with the question of why the conflicting legal complexities surrounding these disagreements contributed to both states so fervently maintaining and defending their claims.

Wong, Ho Yin.
Thesis submitted in: October 2008.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-275).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Abstract --- p.ii
緒論 --- p.iii
Acknowledgement --- p.iv
Abbreviations --- p.ix
List of Tables --- p.ix
Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introductory Chapter --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- The Two Research Questions --- p.3
Chapter 1.3 --- Significance of Studying the DPJ --- p.6
Chapter 1.4 --- Dissertation Framework --- p.7
Chapter 1.5 --- Chapter Conclusion --- p.12
Chapter Chapter 2: --- Background of Japanese Politics --- p.14
Chapter 2.1 --- Opposition Failure in Japan --- p.15
Chapter 2.2 --- External Constraints Faced by Opposition Parties --- p.17
Chapter 2.2.1 --- Electoral System --- p.17
Chapter 2.2.2 --- Electoral Campaign Law --- p.21
Chapter 2.2.3 --- Clientelism and Centralized Government Financial Structure --- p.22
Chapter 2.2.4 --- Party Organization of the LDP --- p.23
Chapter 2.2.5 --- Voting Behavior --- p.27
Chapter 2.2.6 --- Press Club System --- p.28
Chapter 2.2.7 --- Conclusion --- p.31
Chapter 2.3 --- Opposition Fragmentation in Japanese Politics --- p.32
Chapter 2.3.1 --- Opposition Fragmentation under the 55´ة System --- p.32
Chapter 2.3.2 --- Opposition Cooperation and the Break Down of the 55´ة System --- p.37
Chapter 2.3.3 --- The New Party System and Opposition Coalition Failure --- p.39
Chapter 2.3.4 --- The NFP Internal Fragmentation --- p.43
Chapter 2.4 --- Opposition Failure and the DPJ --- p.48
Chapter 2.4.1 --- The Emergence of the DPJ --- p.49
Chapter 2.4.2 --- The Expansion of the DPJ --- p.52
Chapter 2.5 --- Chapter Conclusion --- p.54
Chapter Chapter 3: --- Theory and Methodology --- p.57
Chapter 3.1 --- Party System --- p.58
Chapter 3.1.1 --- Four Attributes of a Party System --- p.58
Chapter 3.1.1.1 --- Number of Parties --- p.59
Chapter 3.1.1.2 --- Relative Strength and Size --- p.59
Chapter 3.1.1.3 --- Structure of Competition --- p.60
Chapter 3.1.1.4 --- Cleavage System --- p.61
Chapter 3.1.2 --- Two Propositions of Party System Change --- p.62
Chapter 3.1.2.1 --- Cleavage System as a Determinant of Party System --- p.62
Chapter 3.1.2.2 --- Party System as a System of Interaction --- p.65
Chapter 3.2 --- Party Organization --- p.68
Chapter 3.2.1 --- Electoral Competition Perspective --- p.69
Chapter 3.2.2 --- Sociological Perspective --- p.72
Chapter 3.2.3 --- Institutional Perspective --- p.75
Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- Genetic Model --- p.76
Chapter 3.2.3.2 --- Institutionalization --- p.77
Chapter 3.2.3.3 --- Implication of the Institutional Perspective --- p.78
Chapter 3.2.3.4 --- Conclusion --- p.80
Chapter 3.3 --- Media --- p.81
Chapter 3.3.1 --- Role of Media --- p.81
Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- Media as Neutral Transmitter --- p.82
Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Media as Watchdog --- p.83
Chapter 3.3.1.3 --- Media as Servant --- p.84
Chapter 3.3.1.4 --- "Media as “Trickster""" --- p.86
Chapter 3.3.2 --- Media Effect --- p.87
Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- Short-term Effect --- p.88
Chapter 3.3.2.1.1 --- Agenda-Setting --- p.88
Chapter 3.3.2.1.2 --- Framing --- p.88
Chapter 3.3.2.1.3 --- Promote Image Campaign --- p.90
Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Long-term Effect --- p.91
Chapter 3.3.2.2.1 --- Political Involvement --- p.91
Chapter 3.4 --- Methodology --- p.93
Chapter 3.4.1 --- Assessing Party Organization --- p.93
Chapter 3.4.1.1 --- First-hand and Second-hand Interview --- p.94
Chapter 3.4.1.2 --- Documentary Research --- p.94
Chapter 3.4.1.3 --- Content Analysis on Politicians´ة Statements --- p.95
Chapter 3.4.1.4 --- Counting on Distribution of Posts --- p.95
Chapter 3.4.2 --- Assessing Media Strategy of the DPJ --- p.96
Chapter 3.4.2.1 --- Documentary Research --- p.96
Chapter 3.5 --- Chapter Conclusion --- p.97
Chapter Chapter 4: --- Internal Coherence of the DPJ --- p.99
Chapter 4.1 --- Factionalism in the DPJ --- p.100
Chapter 4.2 --- Three Dimensions of Conflict --- p.104
Chapter 4.2.1 --- Traditional Ideological Conflict --- p.105
Chapter 4.2.2 --- Former Party Affiliation Conflict --- p.106
Chapter 4.2.3 --- Generation Conflict --- p.107
Chapter 4.3 --- Leadership of the DPJ --- p.108
Chapter 4.4 --- Existing Literatures Explaining the DPJ Unification --- p.112
Chapter 4.4.1 --- Electoral System --- p.113
Chapter 4.4.2 --- Internal Balance of Selective Incentives --- p.114
Chapter 4.4.3 --- Criticism towards Existing Explanations --- p.115
Chapter 4.5 --- Three Factors Unifying the DPJ --- p.119
Chapter 4.5.1 --- Leadership Manipulation in Party Organization --- p.122
Chapter 4.5.1.1 --- Bottom-up Policy Making Process --- p.123
Chapter 4.5.1.2 --- Balanced Leadership System --- p.127
Chapter 4.5.1.3 --- Arrangement in the Merger with LP --- p.130
Chapter 4.5.1.4 --- Conclusion --- p.133
Chapter 4.5.2 --- Collective Incentive of the DPJ --- p.134
Chapter 4.5.2.1 --- Role of Leadership in Collective Incentive --- p.136
Chapter 4.5.2.2 --- Differentiation with the LDP --- p.140
Chapter 4.5.2.3 --- Politicians´ة Conformity --- p.142
Chapter 4.5.2.3.1 --- The Analysis --- p.144
Chapter 4.5.2.3.2 --- Analysis Result --- p.146
Chapter 4.5.2.3.3 --- Conclusion --- p.148
Chapter 4.5.2.4 --- Conclusion --- p.150
Chapter 4.5.3 --- Selective Incentive of the DPJ --- p.151
Chapter 4.5.3.1 --- The Analysis on Party Post --- p.155
Chapter 4.5.3.1.1 --- Standing Officers Council Post --- p.155
Chapter 4.5.3.1.2 --- Next Cabinet --- p.163
Chapter 4.5.3.2 --- The Analysis on Diet Post --- p.169
Chapter 4.5.3.2.1 --- HR Post --- p.172
Chapter 4.5.3.2.2 --- HC Post --- p.174
Chapter 4.5.3.3 --- Conclusion --- p.176
Chapter 4.6 --- Chapter Conclusion --- p.178
Chapter Chapter 5: --- Media Strategy and Electoral Support of the DPJ --- p.181
Chapter 5.1 --- Electoral Performance of the DPJ --- p.181
Chapter 5.2 --- Explanations towards the DPJ Electoral Performance --- p.186
Chapter 5.2.1 --- Structural Perspective --- p.186
Chapter 5.2.1.1 --- Electoral System --- p.187
Chapter 5.2.1.2 --- Changing Societal Ideology --- p.190
Chapter 5.2.2 --- Party Organization Perspective --- p.192
Chapter 5.2.3 --- Voting Behavior Perspective --- p.194
Chapter 5.2.4 --- Criticism towards these Explanations --- p.196
Chapter 5.3 --- Support Base of the DPJ --- p.197
Chapter 5.3.1 --- Unaffiliated Voters and DPJ Support --- p.200
Chapter 5.3.2 --- Characteristics of Unaffiliated Voters --- p.202
Chapter 5.3.3 --- Mobilization of Unaffiliated Voters --- p.205
Chapter 5.3.4 --- Media and Unaffiliated Voters --- p.208
Chapter 5.3.5 --- Conclusion --- p.212
Chapter 5.4 --- Media Strategies of the DPJ --- p.213
Chapter 5.4.1 --- Image and Popularity Promotion of the DPJ before 2001 --- p.215
Chapter 5.4.1.1 --- Popularity Promotion Campaign --- p.215
Chapter 5.4.1.2 --- Image Promotion Campaign --- p.217
Chapter 5.4.1.3 --- Clarify Party Vision Campaign --- p.218
Chapter 5.4.1.4 --- Development of New Media Channels --- p.219
Chapter 5.4.1.5 --- Conclusion --- p.221
Chapter 5.4.2 --- Policy Oriented Strategy and the Manifesto --- p.222
Chapter 5.4.2.1 --- Adjustment in Party Organization --- p.223
Chapter 5.4.2.2 --- Publications in Promoting Policy --- p.224
Chapter 5.4.2.3 --- Policy-Oriented Electoral Campaign and Manifesto --- p.225
Chapter 5.4.2.4 --- New Media in Policy-Oriented Campaign --- p.227
Chapter 5.4.2.5 --- Conclusion --- p.229
Chapter 5.4.3 --- The 2005 HR Election Defeat and Strategic Campaign --- p.229
Chapter 5.4.3.1 --- Koizumi´ةs Success in Media Campaign --- p.230
Chapter 5.4.3.2 --- The DPJ Failure in Media Campaign --- p.232
Chapter 5.4.3.3 --- Party Organization Adjustment in Strategic Promotion Campaign --- p.235
Chapter 5.4.3.4 --- Focuses in Strategic Promotion Campaign --- p.236
Chapter 5.4.3.5 --- New Media in Strategic Promotion Campaign --- p.238
Chapter 5.4.3.6 --- Strategic Promotion Campaign and the 2007 HC Election --- p.238
Chapter 5.4.3.7 --- Conclusion --- p.239
Chapter 5.5 --- Chapter Conclusion --- p.240
Chapter Chapter 6: --- Conclusion Chapter --- p.242
Chapter 6.1 --- Summary --- p.243
Chapter 6.2 --- Theoretical Reflection --- p.246
Chapter 6.3 --- Current Issues of the DPJ --- p.250
Chapter 6.4 --- Further Works --- p.254
Appendix I: Interview Record with a DPJ Officer --- p.257
Appendix II: Interview Record with Professor Kabashima Ikuo --- p.262
Bibliography --- p.265

This dissertation examines the determinants of the effect of partisanship on support for a parliamentary government. In doing so, I address a set of related questions, using Japan as an example. I begin with a descriptive question: Is the effect of partisanship on the job approval of the administration changing over time? To answer this question, using 1960-2001 time series data, I demonstrate the changing impact of the job approval rate of the cabinets over this period. Then I turn to explanation for the change and ask: Why does the effect change over time? I hypothesize that supporters of newly established parties in the government are less likely to be influenced by their partisanship when evaluating the cabinet' performance. Partisanship, defined here as a predisposition to support a particular political party, grows with the cumulative effect of political experience and learning. There is, however, less opportunity for newly established and political parties to have such loyal supporters. My second hypothesis holds that supporters of ruling parties to which the prime minister does not belong are less likely to make partisan judgments in appraising the cabinet's performance. Party identification extends to the government in which the party participates, the partisan effect on the appraisal of the government's performance emerges. The party affiliation of the prime minister influences to what extent people associate the government with the party.
text

This dissertation investigates the position that interest groups occupy in the decisionmaking process of the government of Japan from case studies in the area of health policy. Three important points are demonstrated. First, the medical associations have created strong interdependent linkages to the party in power and have obtained their policy preferences from within the party's decision-making organs. Second, the policy design process in Japan's leading political party, the Liberal Democratic Party, has left little room for the prime minister's initiatives in health care policy. The party has deconcentrated the policy approval process in various councils over which the prime minister has little or no influence. This stands in sharp contrast to the situation prevailing in most parliamentary systems. Third, the thesis demonstrates how the prime minister can, through the design of supra-partisan national councils for reforms, temporarily bypass the normal policymaking channels of the party and enhance its ability to carry out policy adaptation. Two such national councils are investigated: the Nakasone Provisional Council on Administrative Reform (1981-84) and the Hashimoto Administrative Reform Council (1997-98). The temporary national councils are investigated as institutions complementary to the normal policymaking channels of the ministerial and party committees. In the field of health care, the national councils have introduced policy options which had been rejected for years by the medical body and the party in power. The Hashimoto national council, in particular, introduced marketoriented policies that significantly altered Japan's health care system. Three policy areas are investigated: the introduction of principles of information disclosure through the provision of medical files, the creation of transparent price determination mechanisms, and the attempt at reforming the medical fee schedule. These policy changes are seen as a first step toward the introduction of market principles in Japan's service economy.

This thesis uses quantitative techniques in an attempt to identify the underlying determinants of nominal and effective tariff protection of manufacturing industry in Japan. The two alternative models of tariff policy formation in Japan -- the national income maximization model (Japan Inc.) and the income redistribution model -- are well suited to cross-sectional regression analysis because they make completely contradictory predictions about the relationship between tariff protection (and exemption from tariff cuts) received and industry comparative advantage. Expressing the predictions of the opposing models in terms suitable for quantitative testing is straightforward because each of the models uses the same set of easily observable industry structural characteristics to serve as proxy measures for present and expected future comparative advantage. Because the models are in agreement with regard to what constitutes the set of important explanatory variables, but make clear-cut and unambiguously contradictory predictions about the direction of correlation between each of these independent variables and the dependent variable (tariff levels or changes in tariff levels), a cross-sectional study can be used to determine which, if either, of the models has the greater explanatory power. The empirical results strongly contradict the prediction of the income maximization model that tariff protection is given to industries which are at an increasing comparative advantage. That is, the correlations between tariff protection received and the proxies for comparative advantage were all significantly negative. However, the contention of the income redistribution model that tariff protection i s given to industries at a high and increasing comparative disadvantage was supported (could not be rejected with any degree of statistical confidence). Thus, the evidence suggests that tariff protection in postwar Japan has served the goal of income redistribution rather than that of national income maximization. The fundamental determinant of tariff protection received by an industry appears not to have been its potential for developing and maintaining international competitiveness in the future; rather tariff protection tended to be granted to industries at a high and increasing comparative disadvantage. Specifically, between 1965 and 1975 tariff protection in Japan clearly discriminated in favor of industries that added little value to their inputs, had low levels of worker productivity and low rates of productivity increase, were unskilled labor intensive, and had low economies of scale, rates of growth, and international competitiveness. The results of these regressions are very similar, in both direction and strength of association, to those resulting from previous application of these techniques to the analysis of tariff policy formation in other industrial economies.

This thesis explores the legacy for the civil society ofJapanese new left movements, which consisted mainly of anti-Vietnam War groups, radical student groups, young workers' groups. When the poverty problem was disappearing for the Japanese middle class during the economic boom in the 1960s, the movements reflected on the problems experienced by traditional progressive movements and did not limit themselves to changing political regimes or policies. First of all, this thesis argues that, against the backdrop of increasing control over workers in offices and factories due to the mass production system, and intensifying competition between young people for academic qualifications, Japanese new leftists aimed to transform their conservative and depoliticized consciousness called "everydayness". Second, this thesis discusses how Japanese new left movements resorted to violence and lost their popular support. The activists regarded direct action, such as confrontation with the police, as a benchmark of how far they had achieved transformation of their conservative consciousness. Whereas confrontational direct action gave a sense of liberation to the activists and promoted greater mobilization of the movements, some community residents suffered physical injury or damage to their property from armed conflicts between protesters and police officers. From around 1970, I argue, the police successfully contained the movements by initlalliy arresting a number of activists and then working with people in the community, who were concerned about new leftists' violent protests against outsiders or within their own groups. In particular the police focused on improving public relations to gain support from the media. This made it possible for the police to successfully stigmatize Japanese new left movements as "extremists" and identify themselves as guardians of citizens from the movements' violence. In this difficult situation many activists were disappointed with the violence and left the movements. Finally, this thesis discusses the legacy of Japanese new left movements for civil society in the 1970s. Against the backdrop of demobilization of the movements, some activists sought to organize urban consumers in order to support organic farming in rural areas while others tried to build fairer relations with people living in other Asian countries who suffered from poverty and political oppression. These activists had in common their clearer understanding of problems caused by the economic boom, such as environmental deterioration or exploitation of developing countries. I also explore the negative legacy of the movements. "New Politics" theories, which were modelled by political change in European industrialized countries after the 1970s, show that new left movements were transformed into "new social movements", which worked on issues like ecology, anti-nuclear power, gender equity, and rights for ethnic minorities, and influenced bureaucracy and political parties. However, widespread disappointment with Japanese new left movements in civil society, which derived from the failure of their violent protests, prevented the movements from playing a role in networking between each protest against rapid modernization in different local communities, and prevented them from "New Politics" agendas to the attention of political institutions.

Lam Yan-wing.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves [101]-[106]).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Abstract in English PP --- p.i-ii
Abstract in Chinese pp --- p.iv-v
Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction pp --- p.1-10
Chapter Chapter Two --- Early Life of Yanaihara Tadao and Influences on his Ideological Development pp --- p.11-26
Chapter Chapter Three --- Ideas of Yanaihara Tadao in Prewar and Postwar Period pp --- p.27-77
Chapter - --- Christianity and Socialist Ideas: Which was the Right Way to achieve the Utopian Society?
Chapter - --- "Colonial Policies, Racial Equality and Foreign Relations"
Chapter - --- War and Pacifism
Chapter - --- Christianity and Japanese Tradition
Chapter Chapter Four --- Yanaihara Tadao's Ideology and the Contemporary Situation pp --- p.78-94
Chapter Chapter Five --- Conclusion pp --- p.95-100
Bibliography

Wong, Ying Suet.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-131).
In English with some Chinese and Japanese; abstract also in Chinese.
Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.3
Literature Review --- p.7
Structure --- p.10
Notes on Sources --- p.13
Chapter Chapter Two: --- Venereal Disease Policies in the Metropole and Their Colonies --- p.15
The Case of Britain --- p.16
VD Policy in the Metropole: The case of Britain --- p.16
VD Policy in the Colonies: The Case of Colonies under Britain --- p.23
The Case of Japan with Reference of Britain as the Pioneer Policy Maker --- p.28
Chapter Chapter Three: --- Venereal Disease control in the Metropole --- p.31
Legislation --- p.32
Institutions --- p.44
Education and Social Discussion --- p.49
Resistance --- p.55
VD control in the Japanese Military Force --- p.60
Summary --- p.67
Chapter Chapter Four: --- Venereal Disease Control in Colonial Taiwan --- p.70
Legislation --- p.72
Licensed prostitution system --- p.72
The VD Prevention Law --- p.79
Education and Social Discussion --- p.84
Before the VD Prevention Law in Japan in 1927 --- p.84
Education and Public Discussion of VD after the promulgation of the VD Prevention Law in 1927 --- p.90
The Changing Discourse of VD --- p.95
Summary --- p.100
Chapter Chapter Five: --- "Sex, Gender, Class, Race and Colonialism" --- p.101
Taiwanese Women´ةs image: Scapegoating --- p.101
Medical Development: State Medicine and Local Elites --- p.106
VD Control in the Military in Taiwan --- p.109
Summary --- p.111
Chapter Chapter Six: --- Conclusion --- p.114
Bibliography --- p.120