JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY
Spring Semester 2015
Instructor: Hironori Sasada
Email: sasada@oia.hokudai.ac.jp
Office: OIA 320, Office hour: Only by appointment
[Overview] This is an introductory course on Japanese foreign policy. The course will cover Japan’s
foreign policy in the post-WWII period.
[Goals] By the end of the course, students are expected to develop the following skills: (1) to
understand key terms of Japanese foreign policy, (2) to discuss recent important changes in
Japanese foreign relations and explain the contexts of the changes.
LECTURE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMNTS
Week 1: Postwar Japanese foreign policy (1): The Yoshida Doctrine
Pyle, K. (1996) The Japanese Question, Chapter 3, pp.20-41.
[4/14]
Week 2: Postwar Japanese foreign policy (2): The rise and fall of pacifism
[4/21]
Katzenstein and Okamura (1993) “Japanese National Security: Structure, Norms, and
Policies,” in International Security 17 (4), pp. 84-118.
Week 3: The rise of conservatism and nationalism in Japan
[4/28]
Sasada, H. (2006) “Youth and Nationalism in Japan,” in The SAIS Review 26 (2)
pp.109-122.
(Recommended) Sasada H. (2010) “The Electoral Origin of Japan’s Nationalistic
Leadership: Primaries in the LDP Presidential Election and the Pull-Effect” in Journal of
East Asian Studies10 (1), pp.1-30.
Week 4: Japan’s security policy and involvement in the UN PKO
[5/12]
Samuels, R. (2007) “Securing Japan: The Current Discourse,” Journal of Japanese Studies
33 (1) pp. 125-152.
Week 5: Film: Aegis (2005)
No reading
[5/19]
Week 6: Japan’s trade policy
(1)
[5/26]
Solis, M. (2010) “Can FTAs Deliver Market Labialization in Japan? A Study on Domestic
Political Determinants,” Review of International Political Economy 17 (2) pp. 209-37.
Week 7: Japan’s trade policy
(2)
[6/2]
Sasada H. (2013) “The Impact of Rural Votes in Foreign Policies: The FTA Policies under
the DPJ government in Japan” in Asian Journal of Political Science 21, (3) pp.224-248
Week 8: Midterm Exam
[6/9]
Week 9: US-Japan political relations
Hayes, L. (2008) Chapter 12 (pp.239-253)
[6/16]
Week 10: US-Japan economic relations
[6/23]
Schoppa, L. (1993) “Two-level Games and Bargaining Outcomes: Why Gaiatsu Succeeds
in Japan in Some Cases but Not Others”, International Organization 47 (3), pp. 353-86.
Week 11: Japan’s economic relationship with Asia
[6/30]
Hatch, W. and K. Yamamura. (1995) Asia in Japan's Embrace: Building a Regional
Production Alliance, pp.20-40.
Week 12: Japan’s political relationship with Asia (1)
TBA
[7/7]
Week 13: Japan’s political relationship with Asia (2)
[7/14]
Shibuichi, D. (2005) “The Yasukuni Shrine Dispute and the Politics of Identity in Japan:
Why All the Fuss?” in Asian Survey 45 (2), pp.197-215.
Week 14: Japan’s involvement in international organizations
[7/21]
Pekkanen, S. (2004) “The Politics of Japan’s WTO Strategies,” Orbis 48 (1), pp.135-47.
Week 15: Final exam
[7/28]
Class participation
Your participation score depends on your active participation in class discussion. Just attending the
lectures DOES NOT help your score much. You need to get involved in class discussion (make
comments, ask questions, etc.). In order to do so, you need to read the assigned materials and
prepare well for the lecture. Also, if you miss 5 lectures or more, you will fail this course.
Reading materials
All reading materials will be made available online at the course website (www.hironori-sasada.net).
You will need a password to access the materials. Download the files and read them before the
lectures. Password: ______________
Grade
Midterm exam
Final exam
Class participation
40%
40%
20%