Essays
“Internationalization” of National Universities in Japan: Critical Reflections
In Japan, where the unspoken social rules are predominant in workplaces as well as in society, foreigners generally find it difficult to thrive. On the other hand, the Japanese student’s development of his or her individuality needs to be encouraged and fostered also. The Japanese government and the national universities have realized that, and Japan is presently in the phase of a major transformation in its education sector.
Read MoreLaw, Conflict and Airspace: Understanding Air Defense Identification Zones
With states drawing up unilaterally declared defense identification zones that can extended for hundreds of miles beyond territorial airspace, alongside growing fears that these zones will harden into claims of full sovereignty, a once benign security practice has rapidly evolved into a source of conflict over East Asia’s contested skies.
Read MoreReconsidering Land Reform and Agricultural Policy in Japan
This essay seeks to add land relations with a particular emphasis on the consequences of Japan’s post-1945 land reform program to the more recent discussion on ‘human security’ (or non-traditional security concerns) in East Asia.
Read MoreThe Caution of Collective Memory: Why Japan’s 1947 Constitution is Worth Fighting for
Any attempt to revise Article 9 would not only derange Japan’s security situation, but more importantly, would dislodge practices of commemoration for the past 60 years as merely tokenistic. That would seriously fracture the very core of Japan’s state identity.
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