JPOSS

Jochen Rehmert (University of Zurich), Naofumi Fujimura (Kobe University), "Ideological Positions and Committee Chair Appointments"
2022-06-16 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
U.S. EDT: June 16 (Thu), 9 – 10 AM
JST: June 16 (Thu), 10 – 11 PM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper is available here.
Abstract:
Committee chairs hold crucial positions in the legislative process and can push or quell legislative initiatives. While extant studies examine the formal powers and legislative consequences of committee chairs, we know less about their appointment. We examine who ruling parties (principal) appoint to committee chairs (agent) in order to minimize the risk of policy moving away from government positions. Using data from Japan (2003 to 2017) we test expectations derived from the principal-agent framework, conditional on committee type. Japan makes an ideal case to study intra-party chair appointments due to its coalitions’ office allocation patterns. We find that cabinets appoint as chairs ideologically close MPs to committees with jurisdiction on high and foreign policy. However, we find no effect for chair appointments on particularistic committees. Our findings are robust across cabinets, parties and variation in committee classifications. These findings contribute to our understanding of political appointments and legislative processes.
Presenter: Jochen Rehmert (University of Zurich).
Discussants: Benjamin Nyblade (UCLA School of Law), Yoshikuni Ono (Waseda University).
Chair: Amy Catalinac (New York University).

Yujin Woo (Hitotsubashi University), Jaehyun Song (Kansai University), "Nationally Prioritized Migrant Groups and Public Reaction: Evidence from Framing and Conjoint Experiments in East Asia"
2022-06-09 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: June 9 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: June 10 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper is available here.
Abstract:
The government frequently iterate their positions and preferences before its people to win their support. This paper investigates whether the repetitive government messages that prioritize certain migrant groups yield any impact on public perception of migrants. According to cognitive psychology literature, message repetition can positively influence the recipients’ opinions (truth effect) while overexposure can lead to the opposite (reactance). To assess these contradictory effects in the context of migration, we fielded online survey in Japan and South Korea (2020-2021) based on framing and conjoint experiments. The statistical analyses display nuanced interpretations. The respondents in both countries revealed similar preferences over migrant characteristics, such as gender, age, education level, and skill level. However, they did not react, either positively or negatively, to supposedly familiar government statements. Instead, they reacted more strongly and positively to a statement where the government proposed to prioritize somewhat uncommon or irregular migrant group. This finding seems to suggest people’s tendency to follow country-level information when they cannot evaluate the impact of certain policies or issues. In addition, the structure of integration seems to matter. The Korean respondents exhibited greater preference toward the idea of naturalization, which is generally associated with a provision of full rights as legitimate members of the society.
Presenter: Yujin Woo (Hitotsubashi University).
Discussants: Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College), Kikuko Nagayoshi (University of Tokyo).
Chair: Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto).

Remembering Frances Rosenbluth: Scholar, Mentor, and Friend
2022-04-14 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: April 14 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: April 15 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required.
Last November, we lost a brilliant scholar, inspirational mentor, and generous friend. She was one of the founding members of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS). In this session, we will gather together to honor and remember Professor Rosenbluth’s contributions to political science, with a focus on her work on Japanese politics, political institutions, and political economy.
Rafaela Dancygier, Tarek Masoud, Tom Pepinsky and Dawn Teele. “Frances McCall Rosenbluth, a Yale University scholar, understood Japanese politics and so much more.” The Washington Post, January 4, 2022.

Masaaki Higashijima (Tohoku University), Naoki Shimizu, Hidekuni Washida, Yuki Yanai, "Mass Reactions to Endogenous Election Timing: Evidence from Conjoint Experiments in Japan"
2022-03-03 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EST: March 3 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: March 4 (Fri), 10 – 11 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper is available here.
Abstract:
This paper explores when election timing maneuvering undermines procedural fairness of democratic elections. In parliamentary democracies, incumbents opportunistically time elections. In theorizing about how election timing manipulation affects mass perceptions of electoral fairness, we focus on structures of electoral competition. Besides conventional economic opportunism, we consider the following three factors – (1) cabinet support, (2) opposition coordination, and (3) individual partisanship – as moderators influencing mass reactions to election timing. A conjoint experiment conducted in Japan shows that election timing chicanery negatively affects popular perceptions of democratic fairness among independents, particularly when surrounding structures of the electoral field credibly signals election calling is pro-incumbent, i.e., when public support for the government is high and opposition parties fail to coordinate election campaigning. In contrast, government and opposition supporters are less sensitive to timing manipulation and positively evaluate electoral circumstances where their supporting parties have advantages in the first place.
Presenter: Masaaki Higashijima (Tohoku University).
Discussants: Sona N. Golder (Pennsylvania State University), Charles McClean (University of Michigan).
Chair: Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College).

Shusei Eshima (Harvard University), Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College), Shiro Kuriwaki (Stanford University/Yale University), Daniel M. Smith (Columbia University), "Winning Elections with Unpopular Policies: Understanding Single-Party Dominance in Japan"
2022-02-10 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EST: February 10 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: February 11 (Fri), 10 – 11 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
Spatial theories of electoral competition assume that parties win votes by proposing popular policies. Other theories suggest the relevance of voters’ non-policy—or valence—considerations. To what extent do voters make their choices based on policies versus valence? We examine this fundamental question about electoral competition using the case of Japan—a multi- party democracy with a single dominant party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Specifically, we develop a novel measure of multidimensional policy preferences based on conjoint experiments fielded during the 2017 and 2021 House of Representatives elections, and relate this measure to voting intentions. We find that voters’ policy preferences are positively associated with their choices. At the same time, our analysis reveals that the LDP enjoys a strong valence advantage despite proposing policies that are, on the whole, less popular among voters. These findings speak to longstanding questions of electoral competition and (non-)policy voting in multidimensional issue spaces, and help to explain the continued dominance of the LDP.
Presenters: Shusei Eshima (Harvard University), Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College), Shiro Kuriwaki (Stanford University/Yale University), Daniel M. Smith (Columbia University).
Discussants: Eric Guntermann (University of California, Berkeley), Chris Tausanovitch (University of California, Los Angeles).
Chair: Amy Catalinac (New York University).

"Field Research When There’s Limited Access to the Field: Lessons From Japan"
2022-01-27 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EST: January 27 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: January 28 (Fri), 10 – 11 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Co-authors:

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)

Chair: Daniel M. Smith (Columbia University).

Ryan Scoville (Marquette University Law School), "Official Knowledge of Foreign Relations Law in U.S.-Japan Relations"
2022-01-13 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EST: January 13 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: January 14 (Fri), 10 – 11 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Abstract:
Arguments in the field of U.S. foreign relations law typically proceed from the inside out: legal actors focus on internal (domestic) sources of authority to reach conclusions with significant external (international) implications. The text and structure of the Constitution, case law, legislative intent, assessments of institutional competency, and historical practice thus dominate debates about treaty-making, war powers, diplomatic authorities, and related matters. This tendency reflects generic assumptions about the proper modalities of legal analysis and helps to ensure that the law reflects national values.
Yet inside-out arguments overlook a critical fact: the practical merits of U.S. foreign relations law often depend on whether and how this law is understood abroad. In other words, the nature and extent of foreign governmental knowledge of U.S. foreign relations law significantly affect the law’s ability to advance U.S. national interests, but there is neither theoretical nor empirical scholarship on the stakes or condition of such knowledge. Nor are there official U.S. policies to ascertain or account for this form of foreign knowledge. In these circumstances, American legal actors cannot fully apprehend whether the law is well designed and applied to achieve its purposes.
This Article elaborates on these issues to develop an “outside in” approach to U.S. foreign relations law. The Article begins by explaining the value of meta-knowledge—domestic knowledge of foreign knowledge of U.S. foreign relations law. The Article then uses original empirical research to generate meta-knowledge. That research includes an immersive case study on Japan, where I collected academic publications, searched newspaper archives, obtained government records under Japan’s freedom-of-information act, and interviewed dozens of scholars and government officials to triangulate Japanese understandings of U.S. foreign relations law. The Article concludes by laying out an agenda to cultivate additional meta-knowledge, reevaluate the law’s practical merits in light of epistemic conditions, and optimize foreign sophistication through legal and policy reforms.
Presenter: Ryan Scoville (Marquette University Law School).
Discussants: Kevin Cope (University of Virginia School of Law), Andrew Oros (Washington College).
Chair: Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College).

Pinar Temocin (Hiroshima University), "Rethinking Environmental Mobilization: Civic Engagement in Post Fukushima Japan"
2021-12-02 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EST: December 2 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: December 3 (Fri), 10 – 11 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Abstract:
This study focuses on the interaction between environmental civil society organizations (ECSOs) and the Japanese state to find out how these actors have framed, articulated, and interpreted their goals for a nuclear-free policy and sustainable energy realities in the post-Fukushima era (3/11). It analyzes the extent to which environmental civil society actors have been influential in the energy decision-making process since 3/11.
It highlights the socio-political dimensions of nuclear energy issue including the efficacy level of ECSOs, the degree of functionality of governance, the interaction between vertical and horizontal dimensions of state-civil society partnership, and the dynamics of energy policy formation, implementation and development in contemporary Japan. It aims to play a reflective role on the nexus of energy politics, deliberative environmentalism, collective behavior.
Presenter: Pinar Temocin (Hiroshima University).
Discussants: Mary Alice Haddad (Wesleyan University), Yasuo Takao (Curtin University).
Chair: Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto).

Daniel Koss (Harvard University), "Evolving Linkage Strategies: The Resilience of the LDP-Postmasters Alliance"
2021-11-04 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: November 4 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: November 5 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper is available here.
Abstract:
To build linkages with citizens, parties piggyback on the networks of partner associations. This research note explores the enduring alliance between the LDP and the postmasters, assessing to which the party’s reach comes at the expense of its autonomy. The alliance used to epitomize Japan’s costly machine politics, until the postal reform of 2005 was to shake off political capture. Examining career trajectories, this note first shows that the partners have quickly found back together, albeit on new terms. Distilling information from political finance data, the note then describes institutions that underpin the partnership, such as cross-financing schemes to rebuild trust. Finally, by geographically mapping postal linkages in space, the note illustrates the electoral value of the linkages and shows striking spatial associations between postal presence and electoral performance. The postal connection builds bridges between Tokyo and the countryside, warding off political alienation. The case illuminates the path-dependent evolution of the LDP’s organizational infrastructure: Instead of radically breaking with the past, the party nimbly adjusts inherited linkage strategies.
Presenter: Daniel Koss (Harvard University).
Discussants: Naofumi Fujimura (Kobe University), Patricia Maclachlan (University of Texas, Austin).
Chair: Daniel M. Smith (Columbia University).

June Park (Princeton University), “Weaponized Supply Chains: How U.S.-China Race for AI Supremacy Shapes Japan-Korea Chip War"
2021-10-21 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: October 21 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: October 22 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Presenter: June Park (Princeton University).
Chair: Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto).
This seminar is part of the Special Series on Japan-U.S. Cooperation in Digital Governance.

John W. Cheng (Tsuda University), Masaru Nishikawa (Tsuda University), Ikuma Ogura (Georgetown University), Nicholas A. R. Fraser (University of California, Berkeley), "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Willingness to Pay for Online Conspiracy Theory Content – Evidence from Japan"
2021-10-14 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: October 14 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: October 15 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
This study examines whether conspiracy believers in Japan are willing to act on their beliefs using a concept from economics known as willingness to pay. Specifically, we conducted a conjoint experiment (n=1,098) to test whether people are willing to pay for a hypothetical online video channel that offers conspiracy theory content. The results show that around 5% of the participants were willing to pay for the channel, and those who relied more on social media than mainstream media for news were more likely to pay. That is, by using monetary value as a proxy, we find that although their number is relatively small, some individuals are willing to pay for (act on) their conspiracy beliefs.
Paper is available here.
Presenters: John W. Cheng (Tsuda University), Masaru Nishikawa (Tsuda University), Ikuma Ogura (Georgetown University), Nicholas A. R. Fraser (University of California, Berkeley).
Discussants: Masato Kajimoto (University of Hong Kong), Joseph Uscinski (University of Miami).
Chair: Amy Catalinac (New York University).

Panel: "Career Paths and Job Market Strategies for Japan Scholars"
2021-09-23 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: September 23 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: September 24 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Panelists: Sherry L. Martin (U.S. Department of State), Kenneth Mori McElwain (University of Tokyo), Kristin Vekasi (Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; University of Maine).
Chair: Christina L. Davis (Harvard University).
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Charmaine Willis (University at Albany, SUNY), "Framing the Conversation: the US Military and Anti-US-Military Activism in Japan"
2021-08-05 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: August 5 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: August 6 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
Since the end of WWII, the US has maintained a military presence in Japan with bases spread throughout the archipelago. Tensions emerge periodically between the base presence and the local population, particularly on the southernmost island of Okinawa. The US military presence in Okinawa has elicited more local resistance than its presence in mainland Japan, despite large and strategically important bases there. Until recently, previous research on anti-US-base protests in Japan has taken for granted the disparity in protest activity between Okinawa and the Japanese mainland, failing to examine the possible reasons for this difference. This study seeks to discern why the US bases in Okinawa have elicited more protest than the bases on the Japanese mainland through a mixed-method analysis that employs an original protest event dataset, activist and elite interviews, and primary sources. I argue that the difference is primarily rooted in divergent protest framing and discursive opportunity structures. When the US military presence is visible, as in Okinawa, anti-US-military activists’ frames are more likely to resonate. Additionally, communities like Okinawa that have been historically marginalized by the central government and/or the US are more likely to support anti-US-military activism vis-à-vis protests. This study endeavors not only to answer the questions surrounding anti-US protest disparity in Japan, but also to contribute to the understanding of under what conditions sustained protest mobilization emerges.
Paper can be found here.
Presenter: Charmaine Willis (University at Albany, SUNY).
Discussants: Yoshiaki Kubo (Indiana University Bloomington; University of the Ryukyus), Andrew Yeo (Catholic University of America).
Chair: Amy Catalinac (New York University).

Cana Kim (Louisiana State University), "The Failed Reconciliation between North Korea and Japan"
2021-07-15 09:00 - 10:00
U.S. EDT: July 15 (Thu), 9 – 10 AM
JST: July 15 (Thu), 10 – 11 PM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
This study aims to explore the crossover between interstate reconciliation and negotiation by tracing 15 years of normalization efforts between Japan and North Korea. The existing theories of interstate negotiation cannot explain the entire process and outcomes of Japan-DPRK normalization talks in a unified framework. Instead, I situate the negotiation within the subtext of the reconciliation process, of which the primary condition is to eradicate the existing threat perception between former adversaries. To assess this argument, I draw seven hypotheses regarding the effect of threat perceptions on negotiation strategies and outcomes, based on the theory of remembrance. Findings revealed that, under the context of reconciliation, the two countries added issues related to their own threat perception and employed hard-bargaining strategies on the threat perception issues. Furthermore, an apologetic remembrance could not function as a meaningful signal when it contradicted other signals or the previous stance on the issue.
Paper is available here.
Presenter: Cana Kim (Louisiana State University).
Discussants: Thomas Berger (Boston University), Yinan He (Lehigh University).
Chair: Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College).

Hiroki Takeuchi (Southern Methodist University), "Global Value Chains and Domestic Politics Response to Trade: China, Japan, and the United States Compared"
2021-06-24 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: June 24 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: June 25 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
During the 1990s, the nature of globalization began to change. Fragmentation of manufacturing led to the development of global value chains (GVCs) by multinational corporations, and it has become common practice for different stages of manufacturing production to be located in different countries. GVCs based intra-industry trade requires a different kind of rule-making for international trade, and it has changed the political economy of domestic response to international trade agreements. Domestic politics of foreign economic policy differs depending on the state’s domestic political and economic institutions as well as the nature of the international economic agreement. Interestingly, the free trade agreements for GVCs based trade such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership–which is now the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership–tend to be intrusive, which require the signatories to commit to politically sensitive domestic economic reforms–such as the state-owned enterprise reform in China. This paper explores how the spread of GVCs has changed political economy of domestic response to international trade. Its scope is limited to an analysis of China, Japan, and the United States, as lessons from these three countries could translate to other countries.
Paper is available here.
Presenter: Hiroki Takeuchi (Southern Methodist University).
Discussants: Patricia Maclachlan (University of Texas at Austin), Ka Zeng (University of Arkansas).
Chair: Phillip Lipscy (University of Toronto).

Yu Jin Woo (Waseda University), Ikuo Kume (Waseda University), "Taking Gains from Trade (More) Seriously: The Effects of Consumer Perspective on Free Trade in Contemporary Japan"
2021-06-10 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: June 10 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: June 11 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
How did the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) persistently pursue the TPP negotiations without harming its overall public support? In understanding individuals’ preferences toward trade liberalization, the traditional literature on international political economy has typically examined their comparative advantage as producers, which arises from their specific or general skill level or employment concerns. What needs to be taken into account, however, is that their economic preferences are constructed based upon their intertwined identities as both producers and consumers. Using a unique survey design, we conducted an experiment in Japan (2015) that shows that consumer effect reduces individuals’ concerns on income level or employment when they are exposed to consumer and employment primings simultaneously. Furthermore, our subgroup analyses reveal that the consumer effect remains powerful even for economically fragile individuals while the LDP supporters are particularly susceptible to the consumer priming. In sum, our findings speculate that the LDP enjoyed a sustained public support due to Japanese people’s increasing price sensitivity, which is especially strong among pro-LDP individuals.
Paper is available here.
Presenter: Yu Jin Woo (Waseda University).
Discussants: Eddie Hearn (Musashi University), Soo Yeon Kim (National University of Singapore).
Chair: Christina L. Davis (Harvard University).

Yesola Kweon (Utah State University), ByeongHwa Choi (National Taiwan University), "Elderly Identity and Trade Policy Preferences in an Aging Society: Evidence from Japan"
2021-05-27 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: May 27 (Thu), 8 – 9 PM
JST: May 28 (Fri), 9 – 10 AM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
Standard economic models of trade emphasize production ownership and industrial sectors as key determinants of trade policy preferences. Such emphasis directs the focus of previous studies onto working-age individuals, and as a result, the policy preferences of older citizens are often not considered. This is because senior citizens are assumed to be favorable toward trade as they assess the topic only as consumers who stand to benefit from more affordable imported goods. Thought to be outside of the workforce, elderly people are considered to no longer hold a producer’s perspective in evaluating trade policy. Using survey experiment data from Japan, a prototypical aging society, we argue that the trade policy preferences of the elderly depend on regional demographic structures. We find that in aged regions where elderly poverty is a more pressing issue, senior citizens are more likely to oppose trade. In addition, those living in graying regions are also more sensitive to a producer-priming rather than a consumer-priming of population aging issues, further reinforcing their opposition to trade. In contrast to the conventional view that the old and the young have conflicting policy preferences, the growing worker identity among the elderly implies a potential intergenerational convergence in policy preference. In addition, our study suggests that as more senior citizens re-enter the labor market in the context of rapid population aging, the competition among workers for low-quality jobs and hostility toward trade openness is likely to intensify.
Paper is available here.
Presenter: Yesola Kweon (Utah State University).
Discussants: Andy Baker (University of Colorado Boulder), Megumi Naoi (University of California, San Diego).
Chair: Amy Catalinac (New York University).

Kentaro Fukumoto (Gakushuin University), Charles McClean (Harvard University), Kuninori Nakagawa (Shizuoka University), "Shut Down Schools, Knock Down the Virus?"
2021-05-13 09:00 - 10:00
U.S. EDT: May 13 (Thu), 9 – 10 AM
JST: May 13 (Thurs), 10 – 11 PM
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Abstract:
As COVID-19 spread in March 2020, most countries shut down schools in the hopes of slowing the pandemic. Since then, many countries have reopened schools, with varying degrees of success. Yet, we lack research that investigates the effectiveness of these policies in a systematic way. Our study aims to estimate the causal effects of school closures and reopenings on the number of coronavirus infections. To do so, we apply matching methods to municipal-level data in Japan. We find that school closures were not associated with a reduction in the spread of the coronavirus. Our results thus suggest that policies on school closures should be reexamined given the potential negative consequences for childhood learning and development.
Paper is available here.
Presenter: Kentaro Fukumoto (Gakushuin University).
Discussant: Kenneth Mori McElwain (University of Tokyo).
Chair: Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College).

Michael Sharpe (York College/CUNY), "Selecting Legal Residents by Unemployment and Ethnicity in the Liberal Democratic State to 'Control Unwanted Immigration': Remigration in The Netherlands and Japan 1985-2011"
2021-04-15 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: April 15 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: April 16 (Fri), 9 – 10 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Presenters: Michael Sharpe (York College/CUNY).
Discussants: Annika Hinze (Fordham University), Michael Strausz (Texas Christian University).
Chair: Amy Catalinac (New York University).

Taishi Muraoka (Washington University in St. Louis), “How Do Voters Perceive Female Politicians' Abilities to Distribute Pork?” (Pre-analysis Plan)
2021-04-01 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: April 1 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: April 2 (Fri), 9 – 10 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Pre-analysis plan can be found here.
Presenters: Taishi Muraoka (Washington University in St. Louis).
Discussants: Nichole M. Bauer (Louisiana State University), Alexander Coppock (Yale University).
Chair: Daniel M. Smith (Harvard University).

Kenneth Mori McElwain (University of Tokyo), Yuki Shiraito (University of Michigan), Guoer Liu (University of Michigan), "The Clash of Traditional Values: Attitudes toward a Male-line Monarchy under a Succession Crisis"
2021-03-04 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EST: March 4 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: March 5 (Fri), 10 – 11 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Presenters: Kenneth Mori McElwain (University of Tokyo), Yuki Shiraito (University of Michigan).
Discussants: Margarita Estévez-Abe (Syracuse University), Cecilia Hyunjung Mo (University of California, Berkeley).
Chair: Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College).

Panel: “Professional Development #2: Working on Japan, Working in Japan”
2021-02-11 20:00 - 21:15
Professional Development #2: Working on Japan, Working in Japan
U.S. ET: February 11 (Thu), 8:00 – 9:15 pm
JST: February 12 (Fri), 10:00 – 11:15 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Presenters: Sheila Smith (Council on Foreign Relations), Saori Katada (University of Southern California), Ellis Krauss (University of California, San Diego), Gill Steel (Doshisha University).
Chair: Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth).

Jordan Hamzawi (UC Davis), “Policy or Valence? Candidate or Party? Assessing Voter Preferences in Japan”
2020-12-17 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: December 17 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: December 18 (Fri), 10 – 11 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Presenter: Jordan Hamzawi (University of California, Davis).
Discussants: Kentaro Fukumoto (Gakushuin University), Zeynep Somer Topcu (University of Texas at Austin).
Chair: Daniel M. Smith (Harvard).

Takako Hikotani (Columbia), Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth), Atsushi Tago (Waseda), “U.S. Military Should Not Be in My Backyard: A Case of Okinawa”
2020-12-03 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: December 3 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: December 4 (Fri), 10 – 11 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Abstract: In an article recently published in the American Political Science Review, Allen et al. (2020) argue that citizens in U.S. allies are more likely to nurture favorable attitudes toward the U.S. government, American people, and American troops because they have inter-personal contact with Americans and receive economic benefits associated with the U.S. military presence. However, their analysis of surveys fielded in fourteen U.S. allies disregards the geographical concentration of U.S. military facilities within the host countries. To examine this relevance of geography, we focus on Okinawa, a small Japanese prefecture constituting only 0.6% of Japan’s surface land but hosting 70% of U.S. military facilities within Japan. Based on a national sample and a targeted sample from Okinawa, we replicate their survey. We also administer an original conjoint experiment on Japanese citizens’ attitudes toward the Osprey deployment in Japan. The results show strong Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) sentiment among Japanese people, particularly among Okinawans, toward the military presence, regardless of their contact with Americans and economic benefits. Our study sheds light on the importance of local foreign public opinion for foreign policy analysis and contributes to the debate on the U.S. military presence in the world.
Presenters: Takako Hikotani (Columbia), Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth), Atsushi Tago (Waseda).
Discussants: Yoshiaki Kubo (Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; University of the Ryukyus), Michael Tomz (Stanford).
Chair: Christina Davis (Harvard).

Ayumi Teraoka (Princeton), “Third Party Coercion and Gray Zone Conflicts: Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy over the East China Sea, 2008-2014”
2020-11-12 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: November 12 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: November 13 (Fri), 10 – 11 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Paper can be found here.
Abstract: The United States engaged in dual deterrence over the East China Sea dispute from 2008-2014, dissuading both China and Japan from taking escalatory behavior. Contrary to what dual deterrence theory predicts, however, this U.S. approach failed to deescalate the situation. By process-tracing and examining the consequences of U.S. intervention or lack thereof, this article finds that dual deterrence in the gray zone conflict requires the third-party to act decisively and issue early threats and assurances against revisionist actions. It aims to contribute to scholarly debates on both dual deterrence and gray zone conflicts and offer policy implications.
Presenter: Ayumi Teraoka (Princeton).
Discussants: Tim Crawford (Boston College), Mike Mochizuki (George Washington University).
Chair: Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto).

Deirdre Martin (UC Berkeley), "Quiet Acquisition: The Politics of Justification in Military Capability Trajectories"
2020-10-29 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: October 29 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: October 30 (Fri), 9 – 10 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Presenter: Deirdre Martin (UC Berkeley).
Chair: Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College).

Diana Stanescu (Harvard), "Agents or Advisers? Bureaucratic Structure and the Politics of Trade Protectionism" (Practice Job Talk)
2020-10-15 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: October 15 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: October 16 (Fri), 9 – 10 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.
Presenter: Diana Stanescu (Harvard).
Chair: Christina Davis (Harvard).

Fan Lu (Queen's University) & Gento Kato (Nazarbayev University), "Can University Education Cultivate Immigrant Integration? The Case of Local Enfranchisement for Foreign Residents in Japan"
2020-10-01 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: October 1 (Thu), 8 – 9 pm
JST: October 2 (Fri), 9 – 10 am
NOTE: Registration required! Link.

Paper can be found here.
Presenters: Fan Lu (Queen’s University), Gento Kato (Nazarbayev University).
Abstract: While there is lively debate on whether higher education cultivates support for admitting foreigners into North America and Europe, there is little discussion on the extent to which this relationship generalizes beyond these continents. Furthermore, willingness to admit foreigners is not the same as willingness to integrate them. In light of Japan’s growing reliance on foreign workers to solve its labor shortage problem and the public’s divided opinion on integrating foreigners, we examine the relationship between university education and Japanese attitudes toward immigration. To do so, we use matching techniques that incorporate individual attributes as well as residential zip codes to analyze public opinion surveys fielded between 2009 and 2014. Our findings suggest Japanese university education has limited effect on support for enfranchising permanent resident foreigners, and if there is any, the effect is more visible among females than males. Furthermore, the effect is mediated through improved attitudes toward Koreans, the dominant group of permanent resident foreigners rather than attitudes toward Chinese immigrants or more liberal political ideologies.
Discussants: Rieko Kage (University of Tokyo), Rocio Titiunik (Princeton).
Chair: Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth).

Panel: “How to Frame Japan-Related Research for Publications and the Job Market”
2020-09-17 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: 8 – 9 pm, September 17 (Thursday)
JST: 9 – 10 am, September 18 (Friday)
NOTE: Registration required! Link.

Panelists: Amy Catalinac (NYU), Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth), Christina Davis (Harvard), Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth), Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto), Frances McCall Rosenbluth (Yale), Daniel M. Smith (Harvard).
We would like to collect questions in advance, relating to research, publications, the job market, and other topics. Please submit your question in the “Leave a Reply” box below.

Trevor Incerti (Yale) & Hikaru Yamagishi (Yale), "Do Firms Benefit from the Revolving Door? Evidence from Japan"
2020-08-13 20:00 - 21:00
U.S. EDT: 8 – 9 pm, August 13 (Thursday)
JST: 9 – 10 am, August 14 (Friday)
NOTE: Registration required! LINK

[Paper, Codebook and User Guide]
Presenters: Trevor Incerti (Yale University), Hikaru Yamagishi (Yale University).
Abstract: A growing literature finds high returns to firms connected to legislative office. Less attention has been paid to benefits from bureaucratic connections. Yet recent evidence shows that the groups actively contacting the legislature extensively contact bureaucrats as well. Private sector hiring of former civil servants—a process known as the revolving door—facilitates this practice. Leveraging a 2009 law requiring Japanese bureaucratic agencies to report all private sector hires of former civil servants, we construct the first comprehensive dataset of revolving door hires. Using this dataset, as well as data on Japanese government contracts, we test for systematic benefits that accrue to firms who hire former bureaucrats. Specifically, we hypothesize that bureaucratic rehiring will be associated with an increased likelihood of receipt of government contracts and investment. Finally, we test for stock market boosts from hiring of high-ranking former officials using an event study approach.
Discussants: Hye Young You (NYU), Yuhua Wang (Harvard), Ulrike Schaede (UCSD).
Chair: Daniel Smith (Harvard).
