The intertwined issues of Japanese `identity' and `normality' are at the centre of the tension between internal and external pressures on Japanese defence and security policies. With chapters on peace thought, the militarisation and demilitarisation of language as well as the `hard' aspects of the Japanese military build up in the 1980s and the response to the Gulf War in the 1990s, this study challenges many of the preconceived notions on Japanese defence and security policies and the pol...

This book offers a theoretically informed empirical investigation of national media reporting and political discourse on environmental issues in Australia, China and Japan. It illuminates the risks, harms and responsibilities associated with climate change through an analysis of pollution, adopting an interdisciplinary approach drawing on both the social sciences and humanities. A particular strength of the work is the detailed analysis of the data using a range of both quantitative and qu...

The latest edition of this comprehensive and user-friendly textbook provides a single volume resource for all those studying Japan's international relations. It offers a clear and concise introduction to the most important aspects of Japan's role in the globalized economy of the twenty-first century. The book has been fully updated and revised to include comprehensive discussions of contemporary key issues for Japan’s IR, including:the rise of China;reacti...

Japan’s unusual position in the realm of international politics encapsulates a three-fold juxtaposition: both in and out of Asia, both occupied by and a close ally of the United States, and both a key trade partner and a strategic rival of China. Whilst international relations theory offers a number of ways to analyse these relations, this book instead utilizes the concept of risk to provide an innovative perspective on Japan’s relations with China, North Korea and the US.The book ...

Japan's Contested Constitution is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Japanese domestic politics and the international role of Japan. Subjects covered include;* the no war, `pacifist' clause* tension between the constitution and the US-Japan security treaty* the political import of the constitution for Japanese political parties* the significance of the constitution for the Japanese people

Britian and Japan in the Contemporary World provides up-to-date analyses of these two countries in terms of economics, politics, security and identity on the global, regional, subnational and civic levels.The book moves beyond an analysis of state-to-state relations between Britain and Japan by examining the role of civil society in the relationship and analyzing the way the two countries deal with common issues, such as the 'special relationship' both maintain with the US;...

Dr. Ashlyn Penn has lived a rigid life. It's how she deals with her special gifts. Any deviation and her life turns to chaos. So when Harrison Thoreau enters her life it is no surprise she doesn't handle it well and pushes him away.Harrison falls hard for Ashlyn, but respects her wishes and moves on. He is offered a spot on the Sparkle City Fireflies as their new goalie and throws himself into the game, but he never forgets about her.When Harrison's best friend marries Ashl...

Leading specialists from Europe and Japan examine the institutional mechanisms of governance at the global level and provide concrete evidence of the role Japan plays in these institutions. An excellent introduction to the concept of global governance, the volume analyzes how global governance actually works through the global institutional mechanisms of governance. It provides an up-to-date and contemporary analysis of the six most important global institutions, namely:the G...

The Internationalization of Japan provides the English-speaking reader with the opportunity to hear what some of Japan's leading social scientists and other commentators have to say about the internationalization of their country as well as their country's impact overseas.The topic is of extreme importance now as the international community demands a greater Japanese contribution to international society as well as changes in Japan to facilitate foreign access. The book dis...

The Political Economy of Japanese Globalisation reveals the key dimensions of Japanese globalisation today by analysing both its inward and outward manifestations. This is the first book to examine fully the issue of globalisation in relation to Japan. Organised in three parts, The Political Economy of Japanese Globalisation reveals the meanings and implications of the study of Japan's globalization in the context of on-going debates about globalisation in general. The bo...

Excavating the power of memory offers a succinct examination of how memory is constructed, embedded and disseminated in contemporary Japanese society. The unique range and perspective of this collection will provide an understanding not found elsewhere. It starts with a lucid introduction of how memory plays a political and wider social role in Japan. Four case studies follow. The first takes up the divergence in memory at the national and subnational levels by analysing the memory of the ...

This book sheds light on the changing nature of contemporary Japan by decoding a range of political, economic and social boundaries. With a focus on the period following the inauguration of Prime Minister Koizumi Junichirō, the book grows out of a recognition that, with the Koizumi administration playing a more proactive role internationally and moving ahead with deregulation and the ‘structural reform’ of the economy domestically, a range of boundaries have been challenged and reinscribed...