This article examines a concept‘pacifism’described by Japanese prime minister and Liberal Democratic Party's(LDP)president Abe Shinzo and the New Komei Party's(NKP)leader Yamaguchi Natsuo through a lens of r...This article examines a concept‘pacifism’described by Japanese prime minister and Liberal Democratic Party's(LDP)president Abe Shinzo and the New Komei Party's(NKP)leader Yamaguchi Natsuo through a lens of role theory to understand what roles they think Japan should play.First,how the concept'pacifism'is used in statements(speeches,interviews,and remarks on the press)of Abe,Yamaguchi and other related materials,which are assumed to give a clue about their ideas of Japan's role in the world related to pacifism,is examined because this comparison enables to expose accord and discord between them.Second,national role conception or NRC(an actor’s subjective understanding of the country’s appropriate role in the world and the perception of domestic and foreign expectations)about Japan's role and the worldview of each party is discussed in connection with the issue of the revision of the Japanese Constitution which stipulates a general framework of Japan's foreign policy.The LDP aims to play more proactive roles by revising the constitution and Abe dismisses the current constitution as it makes only'one-country pacifism'possible.On the other hand,the NKP tries to maintain the constitution as it is to protect traditional non-military pacifism.展开更多
The paper begins with reviewing the monetary policymaking of Japan since mid-1990s. The ＂Big Bang＂ reforms in 1996-1997 had developed the foundations of financial restructuring in both private and public sectors. Mo...The paper begins with reviewing the monetary policymaking of Japan since mid-1990s. The ＂Big Bang＂ reforms in 1996-1997 had developed the foundations of financial restructuring in both private and public sectors. More importantly, under the 1998 Bank of Japan （BOJ） Law, BOJ successfully earned an independence status to formulate ＂politically neutral＂ monetary policies but encountered political pressures from politicians and Ministry of Finance （MOF） bureaucrats. Then, the paper explores how the second Abe administration has forced BOJ to accommodate its financial agenda--boost economic growth and fight against deflation - in order to gain political interests but hurt BOJ independence. The paper proceeds to explain the conflict between politicians and appointed technocrats as an institutional game under government change. The paper concludes that Abe Shinzo handled the rivalry properly by acting aggressively on both economic and strategic issues and brought a significant electoral success of the Liberal Democratic Party＇s （LDP＇s） in the 2013 upper house election.展开更多
文摘This article examines a concept‘pacifism’described by Japanese prime minister and Liberal Democratic Party's(LDP)president Abe Shinzo and the New Komei Party's(NKP)leader Yamaguchi Natsuo through a lens of role theory to understand what roles they think Japan should play.First,how the concept'pacifism'is used in statements(speeches,interviews,and remarks on the press)of Abe,Yamaguchi and other related materials,which are assumed to give a clue about their ideas of Japan's role in the world related to pacifism,is examined because this comparison enables to expose accord and discord between them.Second,national role conception or NRC(an actor’s subjective understanding of the country’s appropriate role in the world and the perception of domestic and foreign expectations)about Japan's role and the worldview of each party is discussed in connection with the issue of the revision of the Japanese Constitution which stipulates a general framework of Japan's foreign policy.The LDP aims to play more proactive roles by revising the constitution and Abe dismisses the current constitution as it makes only'one-country pacifism'possible.On the other hand,the NKP tries to maintain the constitution as it is to protect traditional non-military pacifism.
文摘The paper begins with reviewing the monetary policymaking of Japan since mid-1990s. The ＂Big Bang＂ reforms in 1996-1997 had developed the foundations of financial restructuring in both private and public sectors. More importantly, under the 1998 Bank of Japan （BOJ） Law, BOJ successfully earned an independence status to formulate ＂politically neutral＂ monetary policies but encountered political pressures from politicians and Ministry of Finance （MOF） bureaucrats. Then, the paper explores how the second Abe administration has forced BOJ to accommodate its financial agenda--boost economic growth and fight against deflation - in order to gain political interests but hurt BOJ independence. The paper proceeds to explain the conflict between politicians and appointed technocrats as an institutional game under government change. The paper concludes that Abe Shinzo handled the rivalry properly by acting aggressively on both economic and strategic issues and brought a significant electoral success of the Liberal Democratic Party＇s （LDP＇s） in the 2013 upper house election.
