PROBLEMS IN ASIAN HISTORY:
JAPANESE POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Co-listed as PLSC 3346

(Co-instruction with Hiroki Takeuchi)

HIST 3395-701C
Mon 6:30PM-9:20—115 Dallas hall

Dean William Tsutsui—203 Dallas Hall—214-768-3212    btsutsui@smu.edu

Prof. Hiroki Takeuchi—211 Carr Collins—214-768-2521   htakeuch@smu.edu

This course offers a general introduction to the major historical, political, and social trends of contemporary Japan that affect the future of Japan, East Asia, and the world including the United States.  Unlike the courses that merely focus on economic development, political institutions, and elite politics, this course focuses on popular attitudes and culture, political participation, and the government’s response in the globalized world.  The course will: (1) examine contemporary history of Japanese politics, society, economy, and culture since World War II; (2)   analyze continuity, change, and challenges in various aspects of Japanese politics and society; and critically evaluate the responses of the Japanese government and various actors in the Japanese society to the major challenges facing Japan.  Throughout the course, efforts will be made to integrate historical materials, specific political and social issues, and analytical concepts of history and political science.  We begin in Part I by focusing on political institutions and party politics in Japan, reviewing the “1955 System” when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was dominant, and how this system has changed since the LDP began losing its dominance in 1993, had to start competing under new electoral rules, and finally lost to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 2009.  Part II then examines Japan’s political economy, reviewing how the Japanese economy has changed from the period of the Japanese economic miracle (1950–1990) through the more recent decades in which Japan has endured a prolonged economic slump and a fall in the fertility rate that threatens to shrink Japan’s working-age population by 30 million over the next few decades.  Part III discusses Japan’s foreign policies and the Japanese society in globalization, reviewing how Japan is seeking to adjust its foreign policies to meet the challenges from its own society and the globalized world in the 21^st century.  We will conclude the course with a discussion of recent debates about Japan’s political and social future.  No prior knowledge of Japanese politics or history will be assumed.

Readings include: 1) Ellis Krauss and Robert Pekkanen, The Rise and Fall of Japan’s LDP; 2) Kenneth B. Pyle, Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose; 3) Frances M. Rosenbluth and Michael F. Thies, Japan Transformed: Political Change and Economic Restructuring; 4) Leonard Schoppa, Race for the Exits: The Unraveling of Japan’s System of Social Protection.