Category: international relations

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comparative politics international relations Japan-related research

JPOSS#50: “Legacies of Settler Mortality and Historical Memory in Settlers’ Home Regions”

The fiftieth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on May 9, 2024. Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Harunobu Saijo (Hiroshima University) presented a pre-analysis plan co-authored with Jing Xu (Tsinghua University) in preparation for their survey implementation in the upcoming months. The authors examine the role of collective memory and historical prejudice in shaping outgroup prejudice, with a focus on a possible mitigating mechanism. They theorize that narratives making explicit the duality of ingroup members as both victims and perpetrators can potentially reduce outgroup hostility. In order to test different components of their theory, the authors make use of two separate analyses on newly collected data on emigrants from the Nagano prefecture to Manchukuo in the 1930s and 1940s. First, they exploit the natural variation in death rates of emigrants to examine the effects of collective victimization on attitudes of ingroup members who are exposed to the balanced framing narrative implemented in the prefecture’s educational program today. Second, they design a factorial vignette treatment to isolate the effects of the balanced framing narrative.

Volha Charnysh (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Anil Menon (University of California, Merced) offered insightful comments on the theory, pitfalls of the empirical design, and possible ways to strengthen the analysis. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussions on ways to improve the paper and its proposed analysis, tips on the survey implementation, and ideas for further consideration.

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/.

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international relations Japan-related research

JPOSS#49:“Japan and the African Development Bank”

The forty-ninth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on May 9, 2024. Christina Davis (Harvard University) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Tetsekela Anyiam-Osigwe (Princeton University) presented a paper co-authored with James Vreeland (Princeton University), which examines the influence of Japan vis-à-vis the United States on African states through the African Development Bank (AfDB). Using panel data on AfDB loans to each state between 1995 and 2015, the authors test the relationship between bilateral political interests and the size of AfDB loans using three measures, UN voting alignment, bilateral aid, and bilateral trade. Their two-way fixed effects model yields statistically significant positive relationships on all three measures for Japan but not the United States. Additional interviews with executives at the AfDB point to Japan’s dominance of co-financing arrangements between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the AfDB. Their findings suggests that Japan may be shaping loan distributions at the AfDB through these channels.

Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College) and Christopher Kilby (Villanova University) offered insightful comments on alternative explanations and suggestions on model specifications. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussions on the theory and alternative empirical strategies.

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/.

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comparative politics international relations Japan-related research

JPOSS #47: “Legacies of Wartime Sexual Violence: Evidence from World War II ‘Comfort Stations’”

The forty-seventh session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on April 11, 2024. Daniel M. Smith (University of Pennsylvania) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Risa Kitagawa (Northeastern University) presented a paper co-authored with Sumin Lee (Texas A&M University), investigating the long-term effects of wartime sexual violence on local communities, specifically levels of social and political trust. The effects are examined using original data on the locations of “comfort stations” instituted by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II and the attitudes of individuals reported in recent surveys based on their proximity to these locations. The causal relationship is advanced by exploiting the orthogonal relationship between “comfort stations” and pre-existing levels of trust in communities, as well as controlling for the extent of military operations and violence against civilians. The authors conduct two individual-level analyses using a cross-national sample and a China national sample from two separate surveys. They find positive effects of “comfort stations” on trust in the family and negative effects on trust in the government. Lastly, they supplement their analysis with victims’ oral accounts, which present possible narratives behind the findings.

Eun A Jo (Cornell University and University of Notre Dame) and Daniel M. Smith (University of Pennsylvania) offered insightful comments on the theory, alternative explanations, and further considerations related to cross-national and over-time disparities. During the Q&A session, participants furthered discussions on conflicting explanations, ways to improve the statistical analysis, and alternative sources of data.

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/.

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international relations

JPOSS #46: “Friend-Shoring without Decoupling: How Japanese Multinational Corporations Adapt to Political Risk in China”

The forty-sixth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on March 28, 2024. Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.

Timothy Cichanowicz (University of Kansas) presented a paper, co-authored with Samantha A. Vortherms (University of California, Irvine) and Jiakun Jack Zhang (University of Kansas), focusing on firm behavior in response to political risk in China. The authors exploit longer periods of data on behavior by Japanese firms—early movers in response to disputes between China and Japan—to test their theories on shifts in investment from China to other countries in general (“de-risking”) as well as to countries with security ties to Japan (“friend-shoring”). Based on their analysis, the authors argue for the presence of friend-shoring but lack of evidence for de-risking.

Lee Branstetter (Carnegie Mellon University) and Kristin Vekasi (University of Maine) offered insightful comments and suggestions on conceptual clarity, empirical measures, and considerations regarding context, among others. During the Q&A session, participants furthered the discussion on alternative empirical strategies and ways to overcome data availability constraints.

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/

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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/

Categories
comparative politics international relations Japan-related research

JPOSS #26: “Field Research When There’s Limited Access to the Field: Lessons from Japan”

The twenty-fifth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on January 27, 2022. Daniel M. Smith (Harvard University) chaired the seminar and moderated the question and answer session.

Kenya Amano (University of Washington), Melanie Sayuri Dominguez (University of New Mexico), Timothy Fraser (Northeastern University), Etienne Gagnon (University of Tokyo), Trevor Incerti  (Yale University), Jinhyuk Jang (Pennsylvania State University), Charles T. McClean (University of Michigan), Austin M. Mitchell (Tohoku University), Sayumi Miyano (Princeton University), Colin Moreshead (Yale University), Harunobu Saijo (Duke University), Diana Stanescu (Stanford University), Ayumi Teraoka (Princeton University), Hikaru Yamagishi (Yale University), Charmaine N. Willis (University at Albany, State University of New York), Yujin Woo (Waseda University), Charles Crabtree  (Dartmouth College) presented their paper which identifies recent issues researchers have had conducting fieldwork in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss potential solutions to overcome these challenges.

Amano and colleagues discussed several logistical challenges that the current pandemic poses for conducting fieldwork in Japan specifically, but which could apply to other contexts: (1) the availability of research visas in the target country; (2) limitations placed on travel by home institutions and/or funders; (3) opportunities to work with local sponsors and network; (4) ethical restrictions to in-person contact; and, (5) changing entry restrictions both in their target country and at research locations (i.e., archives, libraries, and university facilities).

To overcome these logistical challenges, Amano and colleagues offered several recommendations. First, they offered strategies for conducting interview-based research remotely.

Second, Amano and colleagues talked about how researchers can leverage observational data that has been less frequently used.

Third, Amano and colleagues examined the trade-offs of pivoting research designs to include observational and experimental public opinion surveys.

During the Q and A session, participants offered further insights on these potential solutions and pinpointed other strategies that researchers working on might deploy to overcome challenges conducting fieldwork in Japan. Both the presenters and participants also pointed out how these strategies for conducting fieldwork in the age of COVID-19 can be applied by those researching other contexts.

This event attracted several 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 #25: “Official Knowledge of Foreign Relations Law in U.S.-Japan Relations”

The twenty-fourth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on January 13, 2022. Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q & A session.

Ryan Scoville (Marquette University Law School) presented his research on knowledge of U. S. foreign relations law as it is understood by Japanese government officials. His work addresses a gap in existing legal scholarship on the laws governing how the U. S. engages in foreign relations (treaty-making, managing security, etc.) by investigating the extent to which foreign governments understand this aspect of American law. Using a case study of Japan, Scoville makes three points. First, meta-knowledge is valuable as the U. S. government needs to gauge how well foreign governments understand American foreign relations law to improve it in terms of optimizing design and use. Second, meta-knowledge of U. S. foreign relations law is generally lacking. Three, scholars should cultivate an understanding of U. S. foreign relations law.

Discussant comments were given by Kevin Cope (University of Virginia School of Law) and Andrew Oros (Washington College). During the Q and A session, participants raised important questions about the degree to which researchers can accurately gauge how well foreign governments understand U. S. foreign relations law and the implications of such knowledge for international relations.

This event attracted several 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 international relations Japan-related research

JPOSS #24: “Rethinking Environmental Mobilization: Civic Engagement in Post Fukushima Japan”

The twenty-third session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on December 2, 2021. Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto) chaired the seminar and moderated the question and answer session.

Pinar Temocin (Hiroshima University) presented her doctoral research exploring the degree to which environmental civil society organizations (ECSOs) might have influenced Japanese energy policy since 3/11. Specifically, her research seeks to investigate domestic advocacy groups pursuing cooperative strategies (Institute of Sustainable Energy Policies, Renewable Energy Institute) as well as international advocacy groups that use a confrontational approach (Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth). Based on in-depth interviews with various policy stakeholders (including environmental advocates, politicians, corporations, and scientists), Temocin finds that ECSOs have had a limited influence on Japanese energy policy since the Fukushima triple disaster in 2011. Her work also suggests that the pro-nuclear lobby has had far more influence on policy relative to environmental activists.

Discussant comments were given by Mary Alice Haddad (Wesleyan University) and Yasuo Takao (Curtin University). During the Q and A session, participants raised important questions about the degree to which civil society groups influence Japanese policy-making and their influence on politicians.

This event attracted around thirty 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/

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comparative politics international relations Japan-related research Uncategorized

JPOSS #20: “Career Paths and Job Market Strategies for Japan Scholars”

The twentieth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on September 23, 2021. Christina L. Davis (Harvard University) chaired the seminar and moderated the question and answer session.

The sessions included discussions of the experiences of Japan scholars working in the US and Japan. Sherry L. Martin (U.S. Department of State) reflected on her experiences launching an academic career in the US and her subsequent transition into government work, highlighting the many ways in which Japan scholars can leverage their expertise to pursue a career in public service. Kenneth Mori McElwain (University of Tokyo) provided unique insights on how and why Japanese post-secondary institutions may wish to hire political scientists from abroad who do research on Japan. Kristin Vekasi (Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; University of Maine) discussed her experiences applying to academic and non-academic jobs, highlighting how Japan scholars can use their regional expertise to bring new perspectives in teaching and research as well as the importance of emphasizing their foreign language skills.

The session attracted several participants and included an active Q&A session on said topics. 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/