Japan

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The Suga Administration: Prospects for the Future

Please join us for a live webinar with:

Gerald L. Curtis, Burgess Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Columbia University

Moderated by: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

With Prime Minister Abe’s sudden resignation in September, his powerful chief cabinet secretary, Suga Yoshihide, obtained the support of the party’s most powerful faction leaders to become Japan’s new prime minister. Suga was elected to serve out the remainder of Abe’s tenure as LDP president. Come next September he will have to win a party presidential contest if he is to remain as prime minister. After almost two months in office his future is uncertain. He has pushed for some popular reforms but he has not been able to articulate an overarching vision or strategy. He has faced widespread criticism for his decision relating to the appointment of new members of the prestigious Science Council. His popularity has been going down. One thing we know is that the skill set that makes for a powerful chief cabinet secretary is not the same as is required of a successful prime minister. Will Suga remain prime minister after next September or will power pass into the hands of a new generation of political leaders? Is there likely to be a continuation of stable government as there was under Abe or is Japan perhaps heading into another phase of rapidly changing occupants of the prime minister’s residence? These are some of the questions Professor Curtis will be addressing in this webinar.

The event is co-sponsored by the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at the Columbia Business School
and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

Registration required. Please register here.

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The Shosoin Treasury: Three Perspectives

Yukio Lippit
Jeffrey T. Chambers and Andrea Okamura Professor of History of Art and Architecture
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Harvard College Professor, Harvard University

Followed by a roundtable discussion with Michael Como (Columbia), Bryan Lowe (Princeton), David Lurie (Columbia), and Matthew McKelway (Columbia)

Register here: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvdu2uqjsjHNblvN3-VYnUAklNbIuLQCei

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Immigration and Racism in Japan: Litmus test for liberal democracy?

Please join us for a panel discussion with:

Erin Chung, Charles D. Miller Associate Professor of East Asian Politics, John Hopkins University

Apichai Shipper, Asia Regional Chair at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State; Adjunct Associate Professor in the Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service

Atsuko Abe, J. F. Oberlin University College of Liberal Arts, Tokyo, Japan

Gracia Liu-Farrer, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

Moderated by: Michael Sharpe, Research Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute; Associate Professor of Political Science, York College, City University of New York

Introductory remarks by: Takako Hikotani Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Department of Political Science

This event will discuss the growing debate around whether or not Japan will become a country of immigration and the related and under addressed subject of racism. Japan is one of the few liberal democracies in the world to have successfully resisted immigration in its postwar economy. However, in the last twenty years, immigration in Japan has increased substantially with various side doors for unskilled labor as well as official entry points for skilled labor with options for fast tracked permanent residency. In 2018, Prime Minister Abe proposed some 500,000 unskilled workers by 2025 to fill jobs in industries with labor shortages while at the same time declaring that this is not an immigration policy. In the face of ageing population and low birthrate, Japan find itself at a crossroads of whether, how, and when to accept the increasing reality of immigration as a solution to its demographic decline and labor shortage. Will Japan follow the path of Western liberal democracies in accepting immigrants and extending rights of citizenship? How are immigrants being received? Do immigrants exercise political rights and build coalition with other marginalized groups? What is the role of race, ethnicity, and racism in all of this? Will Japan go the way of Western liberal democracies or in the direction of illiberal autocracies such as Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates. This event will provide an opportunity to discuss issues of immigration and racism in Japan. It will bring together leading scholars in the field of immigration and racism with a focus on Japan.
The event will be conducted via Zoom. Please register here.

This event is organized by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

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