Author: Jiajia Zhou

Categories
Japan-related research

JPOSS #42: “A Tale of Two Groups of Japanese Political Scientists: Japan as an Example of Internationalization of Political Science, 1971-2023”

The forty-second session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on October 26, 2023. Daniel M. Smith (University of Pennsylvania) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Masaru Nishikawa (Tsuda University) presented his paper co-authored with Akira Matsui (Yokohama National University) and Daisuke Sakai (Independent Researcher), examining the internationalization of political science in Japan. The authors define internationalization as an “increase in publication in international journals and in international co-authorships.” They employ descriptive statistics, network analysis, quantitative textual analysis, and interviews with Japanese political scientists to understand the presence of and motivations behind internationalization trends among Japanese political scientists. Their results show aggregate increases in international journal publications that are not matched by increases in international co-authorship despite general trends in the field toward co-authored publications. Additionally, the authors find no significant gender disparities in average individual publication trends, though women remain underrepresented. In applying topic modeling to the journal abstracts in the sample data, the authors find distinct emphases between international and domestic journal publications. Interviewing a group of political scientists from the sample, the authors found that there was a general agreement on the importance of publishing in international journals for career advancement.

Alexander J. Gates (University of Virginia) offered suggestions on ways to further the research, such as considering social identities and the factors that shape topic selection. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussions concerning questions of gender, potential for insights through cross-national comparisons, and a reconsideration of the paper’s intended audience.

The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
comparative politics Japan-related research

JPOSS #41: “Does Divided Government Control Unilateral Policymaking? Evidence from Chair Elections”

The forty-first session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on August 24, 2023. Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Takaharu Saito (Nagoya University of Commerce and Business) presented his paper examining the impact of divided governments on unilateral policymaking by executive power. Utilizing a dataset of 790 city governments in Japan, which operate under a presidential framework led by mayors, Saito uses the regression discontinuity method to probe the causal relationship. Specifically, he examines the frequency of unilateral action undertaken by mayors⁠—referred to as “senketsu shobun” in accordance with Article 179 of the Local Autonomy Law⁠—and leverages the as-if random occurrence of divided government measured by the alignment of party affiliations between mayors and city assembly chairs who were elected through narrow winning margins. His analysis finds no significant effect of divided government on unilateral policymaking.

Alex Bolton (Emory University) and Charles McClean (Yale University) offered insightful comments on the meaning of unilateralism and divided government in the context of local governments in Japan, the role of assembly chairs, and electoral rules. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussions on the concept of partisanship and the relationship between national parties and local politics, and provided additional suggestions for improvement.

The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
professional development

JPOSS #40: “Professionalization Session: Strategies for Teaching Japanese Politics”

The fortieth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on July 20, 2023. Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College), Saori Katada (University of Southern California), and Megumi Naoi (University of California, San Diego) presented on their approaches to teaching about Japan in political science courses.

The presenters addressed a number of concerns and challenges, such as diverse interests and knowledge about Japan among students. They note that students often require an orientation process to begin thinking about Japan from a political science perspective. Horiuchi starts his course with a simple research assignment that gets undergraduate students to read news articles on an issue of interest involving Japan, while Katada assigns group projects which allow students to pool their background knowledge. On the other hand, Naoi focuses the first few weeks of her course on some theoretical foundations in order to bridge broader theories in political science and the case of Japan.

In addition, the presenters shared various ways they have designed course assignments to engage with students’ interests and encourage their exploration and research on different topics. Examples raised include multimedia projects, timed mini-research challenges, and experiential learning opportunities involving interactions with Japanese students and looking for cultural icons in their local city.

After the presentations, the conversation expanded to a discussion with participants in the session, who shared about their own teaching experiences. Participants spoke about their use of debates and role-play simulations in class, as well as facilitating students’ engagement with external parties and policymakers. A recording of this session is available upon request.

The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS:   https://jposs.org/

Categories
comparative politics Japan-related research

JPOSS #39: “Moderating Role of Country-of-Origin Stereotypes on Attitudes Towards Immigrants”

The thirty-ninth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on June 8, 2023. Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Boyoon Lee (Vanderbilt University) presented a paper which examines the role of country-of-origin stereotypes on immigration preferences. Contrary to existing studies in North America and Western Europe which have not found countries of origin to matter in shaping these preferences, Lee utilizes the context of Japan where perceptions of nationality are more pronounced and finds evidence for the moderating effect of negative country-of-origin stereotypes. Lee adopts a choice-based conjoint experiment to examine the effect of stereotypes, measured along two dimensions of warmth and competence, on immigration preferences. Her experiment considers 11 countries of origin across five continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America), which are used in measuring both respondents’ pre-existing beliefs and immigration preferences. Lee’s analysis finds asymmetric effects along both dimensions of the measure for country-of-origin stereotypes: above-median beliefs are not associated with differences in immigration preferences while below-median beliefs are associated with weaker preferences. In other words, only negative country-of-origin stereotypes are found to have a moderating effect on immigration preferences.

Jeremy Ferwerda (Dartmouth College) and Michael Strausz (Texas Christian University) offered insightful comments on the framing of the study’s contributions and case selection, suggestions for relevant literature, and ideas for alternative analyses. During the Q&A session, participants offered additional suggestions for interpretations of the study’s findings as well as its policy implications.

The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS:  https://jposs.org/

Categories
comparative politics Japan-related research

JPOSS #38: “Comparative One-Party Rule: Japan and Mexico Compared”

The thirty-eighth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on May 18, 2023. Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Keely McNeme (Southern Methodist University) presented a paper co-authored with Hiroki Takeuchi (Southern Methodist University) examining the different trajectories of party adaptation from positions of single-party rule by the Liberal Ruling Party (LDP) in Japan and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico. The authors argue that the party structure and clientelist strategy in each case incentivized different patterns of behavior when conditions became less conducive for clientelism. Whereas PRI’s use of electoral manipulation to sustain an overwhelming majority led to its downfall, LDP’s turn to coalition-building to sustain a slim majority led to a path of strength through sustained moderation of its policies.

Masaaki Higashijima (University of Tokyo) and Len Schoppa (University of Virginia) offered insightful comments on alternative theories and case selection. During the Q&A session, participants furthered suggestions on literature, theory, and possible extensions to the paper.

The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
comparative politics Japan-related research

JPOSS #37: “Good News or Bad News? Political Social Media Messaging During the Tokyo Olympics”

The thirty-seventh session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on April 20, 2023. Daniel M. Smith  (Columbia University) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Etienne Gagnon (University of Tokyo) presented a paper co-authored with Kenneth McElwain (University of Tokyo) and Yuya Shibuya (University of Tokyo) where they offer a theory on “political bandwagoning,” politicians’ opportunistic behavior in response to events that present irrelevant cues to evaluate political competence. Their study focuses on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, an event that presents a crucial case to test their theory. Existing studies on the effects of politically irrelevant cues focus on the passive occurrence of events that are both unpoliticized and unambiguously positive or negative. In contrast, the Tokyo Olympics was especially controversial due to its occurrence in the midst of a pandemic, not to mention the event had coincided with a pending election, which presumably accentuated strategic considerations for bandwagoning. Thus, the sports event presented favorable conditions for opportunistic behavior while remaining a politically irrelevant cue. To test their theory, the authors use a difference-in-differences approach to examine politicians’ social messaging behavior after an athlete from the politicians’ respective hometown wins a medal. They find evidence for an increase in positive messaging by ruling party politicians and no observable difference for opposition party politicians.

Neil Malhotra (Stanford University) and Eunji Kim (Columbia University) offered insightful comments on the framing of the study as well as the interpretation of its findings. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussions on research design and provided suggestions on alternative sources of data for analysis.

This event attracted around 23 participants and produced an engaging Q&A session. The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
comparative politics Japan-related research

JPOSS #36: “Show Me the Money: Explaining Fiscal Capacity Building in Late 16th Century Japan”

The thirty-sixth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on March 2, 2023. Amy Catalinac (New York University) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Austin Mitchell (Tohoku University) and Weiwen Yin (University of Macau) presented a paper co-authored with Minzhao Wang (Peking University), looking at the motivations behind the development of fiscal capacity. They focus on the case of 16th-century Japan where the state under Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s rule observed surprising levels of centralization of power in its implementation of cadastral surveys. According to the authors, this act of overcoming asymmetric information between central and local governments is a crucial step toward developing fiscal capacity in the state-building process. Their study probes the case using a number of theories, namely the presence of external threat, domestic power competition, and revenue maximization. Using a logistic regression model on provincial-level data, the authors show that the implementation of surveys was driven by agricultural output, specifically rice production, thereby showing support for revenue maximization as a driver of fiscal capacity building. They find no evidence for the effect of external threat faced by the provinces as well as internal threat posed by the presence of powerful domestic rivals in these provinces.

David Stasavage (New York University) and Junichi Yamasaki (Kobe University) offered insightful comments on the theoretical framework, untapped contributions of the study, and suggestions for improvements to the research design. During the Q&A session, participants expanded on discussions of research design and endogeneity concerns, and provided suggestions for alternative measures as well as ways to circumvent these issues.

This event attracted around 16 participants and produced an engaging Q&A session. The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
Japan-related research

JPOSS #35: “Japan: The Harbinger State”

The thirty-fifth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on February 2, 2023. Christina L. Davis (Harvard University) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto) presented a paper published in a special issue of the Japanese Journal of Political Science (JJPS) honoring and celebrating the works of Susan Pharr upon her retirement. Lipscy notes that the paper is inspired by Pharr’s contributions to the field of political science through her study of Japan. In this paper, he reviews the trends of research on Japan in the field and argues for the value of studying Japan as a “harbinger state,” a country that is relatively early amongst others in encountering a general issue or challenge. While the concept is not unique to the case of Japan, Lipscy points out a number of areas where Japan’s experience presents crucial opportunities for preliminary evidence and insights on issues that may be incipient in other states, such as aging population, staggering public debt, and responding to the rise of China.

During the Q&A session, participants reflected on the role of single country studies in the field as well as the challenge of undertaking book-length expositions of ideas and theories with a central focus on Japan. Participants also mentioned difficulties in framing Japan as a case in conversation with different areas of scholarship. Moving forward as a community of scholars, participants raised suggestions for collaborations and conferences.

This event attracted around 30 participants and produced an engaging Q&A session. The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
international relations Japan-related research

JPOSS #34: “The Pretty Pragmatic Public: Japanese Public Opinion During the Afghanistan Evacuation”

The thirty-fourth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on December 15, 2022. Amy Catalinac (New York University) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College) presented a paper co-authored with Atsushi Tago (Waseda University) on Japanese public opinion toward the Self-Defense Force’s (SDF) involvement in military operations in accordance with the US-Japan alliance. Their study offers an empirical expansion of the US-centric public opinion literature to the context of Japan, a crucial case in light of geopolitical developments in the region. Responding specifically to the literature on civilian control and casualty sensitivity, the authors administer an online survey experiment to understand the applicability of existing theories to Japan. In order to circumvent the shortcomings of utilizing hypothetical scenarios in survey experiments, the authors conducted a “real-time” survey experiment using the real and concurrent case of the SDF evacuation mission in Afghanistan as the situation was unfolding in August 2021. Consistent with studies on US public opinion, the authors find that first, Japanese support for military operations decreases in response to the presence of casualties, and second, the survey results do not align with the expectations of civilian control. However, unlike the case of the US, casualty sensitivity in the Japanese case does not seem conditional on the success of military operations. The survey experiments covered in this paper are part of a larger series of survey experiments conducted by the authors to understand Japanese public opinion toward military operations, an area of research that has until recently been limited.

Shoko Kohama (Hokkaido University) and Jonathan Renshon (University of Wisconsin-Madison) offered insightful comments on the scope conditions, potential downsides to employing “real-time” survey vignettes, and alternative ways to frame the study. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussion on the framing and theoretical contributions of the study.

This event attracted around 32 participants and produced an engaging Q&A session. The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/

Categories
international relations

JPOSS #33: “Following Peers and Competitors: How Business Managers Evaluate Firm Withdrawals from Russia”

The thirty-third session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on November 9, 2022. Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Christina Davis (Harvard University) presented a paper co-authored with Jialu Li (Harvard University) and Sayumi Miyano (Princeton University), looking at the strategic considerations that factor in firms’ response to international events. In particular, they examine the peer effect of firms withdrawing and competition pressures of firms remaining after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on two outcomes, support for firm withdrawal and information-seeking behavior. Using a vignette experiment, the authors varied factual information on the nationalities of firms withdrawing and remaining in Russia in a survey administered to Japanese employees at the managerial level and above. Controlling for respondents’ firm- and individual-level attributes, they find evidence supporting both theories on the stated preferences of business managers for firm withdrawal. In addition, the authors examined a potential underlying mechanism by appending an additional treatment citing concerns over reputation with domestic and international consumers, investors, and client firms as the reason for other firms’ withdrawal. They find support for a negative effect of this mechanism. On the second outcome of information-seeking behavior, the authors find that respondents presented with information on US withdrawal are more likely to seek information on US public opinion, while respondents receiving information on Chinese firms remaining are more likely to seek information on Chinese government policy.

Kristin Vekasi (University of Maine) and Rachel Wellhausen (University of Texas at Austin) offered insightful comments on alternative interpretations of the survey findings, drawing attention to the survey design and sample of survey respondents. During the Q&A session, participants furthered the discussion by suggesting additional considerations for firm-level characteristics, language used in the survey, and the survey’s mode of implementation.

This event attracted around 32 participants and produced an engaging Q&A session. The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS:   https://jposs.org/