Political Science: Japanese Politics

Institutions, processes, and problems of government in Japan. Prerequisite: POLS 1700 or POLS 1017.

Prerequisite enforced by the system: POLS 1700 or POLS 1017. Minimum Sophomore standing. PACE students with permission and override.

This course is geared to either political science or Asian Studies majors/minors or to anyone interested in Japan or East Asia. If you have not taken the prerequisite and need this class for your major or minor, please message me! This course will familiarize you with issues in Japanese politics in historical and comparative perspective. Through a combination of readings, lectures, discussions and films, we will survey the history of Japan's rise from an industrializing Asian country to a postwar economic superpower to its current political and economic challenges it faces today. We will examine the major postwar political institutions and organizations in Japanese politics, with emphasis placed on the role of the state, political parties, and electoral system. Finally, we will examine Japan’s role in world affairs and its relations with the outside world.

General learning objectives: 1) To learn more about Japan’s political system and those of a few of its neighbors as well as study Japan’s relations with the outside world. 2) To learn about different scholarship and perspectives used to study Japanese politics. 3) To analyze current debates in the study of Japanese politics through written projects and classroom discussion.

The general basis for the course grade will likely be composed from the following: 1) around 3-4 tests focusing on the readings and lecture materials; 2) one or two relatively short research papers based on specified topics; and 3) any additional assignments as well as class attendance and participation.