This book has four main objectives: to bring the thus far almost entirely neglected historical case of ‘the rise of Japan’ into the literature on power shifts in general and ‘the rise of China’ in particular; to propose a discourse-based conceptualization of identity for the study of economic policy that engages theoretical and methodological debates on how to overcome the dichotomy between ‘ideational’ (identity) and ‘material’ (economic) factors; to address the tendency to focus on the ‘radical Other’ in poststructuralist IR scholarship, by highlighting how heterogeneity disturbs exclusive and binary articulations of identity and difference; and to propose a method for putting political discourse theory (PDT) into practice in empirical research by drawing on rhetorical political analysis (RPA). US congressional debates on economic policy on Japan and China in 1985–2008 are analysed as examples of official US elite public discourse. The book shows that the ‘new era’ in US-Chinese relations that scholars and policymakers have been announcing since the beginning of the Trump presidency was long in the making, as it rests on longstanding discourses on the USA’s main economic competitor.

The 1970s were a period of dramatic change in relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The two countries established diplomatic relations for the first time, forged close economic ties and reached political agreements that still guide and constrain relations today. This book delivers a history of this foundational period in Sino-Japanese relations. It presents an up-to-date diplomatic history of the relationship but also goes beyond this to argue that Japan's relations with China must be understood in the context of a larger “China problem” that was inseparable from a domestic contest to define Japanese national identity. The China Problem in Postwar Japan challenges some common assertions or assumptions about the role of Japanese national identity in postwar Sino-Japanese relations, showing how the history of Japanese relations with China in the 1970s is shaped by the strength of Japanese national identity, not its weakness.

The essays in this collection examine Sino-Japanese political relations given the phenomenon of ‘a rising China and a stagnating Japan’. Questioning whether their relationship is one of cooperation or conflict, the book reviews China and Japan’s bilateral ties to see whether they have deepened and broadened despite differences in outlook, national interest and political systems. Adding a new perspective to the Sino-Japanese political relations discussion, the book looks beyond the interactions of central governments to examine the role of NGOs, local governments and sub-regional linkages. The contributors adopt a range of analytical approaches and explore case studies including the Taiwan issue, Japanese Official Development Policy towards China and joint fishery management in the East China Sea. With perspectives from the US, Russia and Malaysia, the book yields new insights into this complex and multifaceted relationship and is a welcome addition to the current literature.

This book examines the often troubled relationship between Japan and China from a broad interdisciplinary perspective. Utilising the expertise of Chinese, Japanese and regional specialists working in a variety of fields, this original work approaches the contemporary sources of tensions between these two Asian giants from several levels of analysis. In particular the domestic-state interface in both countries and the important role of historical perceptions in the region are explored.

Around the world, food has probably never been as safe as it is today. However, periodic crises have aroused consumer anxiety and contributed to a general lack of confidence in the agro-industrial system. The diverse nature of these crises increases governments’ and industry difficulties in predicting and tackling them. This book addresses the relations between risk and food theoretically and empirically through case studies from Japan and China. Part I of the book examines the interaction between theoretical aspects and decision-making. The book theorizes the links between food and risk and analyses the decision-making process in light of risks and governance. The relationship between food risks, governance systems and economic decisions is assessed to explore ideas such as the "pact of nutrition" and the theory of weak signals. Part II examines case studies from China and Japan in the aftermaths of recent crises such as the milk powder scandal in China and food safety following the Fukushima nuclear accident and tsunami in Japan. This book will be an important resource for scholars, academics and policy-makers in the fields of sociology, economics, food studies, Chinese studies and Japanese studies and theories of risks and safety.

This book provides undergraduate and graduate students with an interdisciplinary compendium written by a number of leading specialists on contemporary Japan. Chapters reflect the standards of rigorous scholarly work, but also exceed them in their accessibility of language and engagement with concerns relevant to non-specialists. The probing analysis of key debates and issues confronting Japan make this ideal for college courses and an essential reference work on Japan/Asia for libraries. This book encompasses a range of disciplines in the social sciences and thus will be useful for a variety of courses including Comparative Politics, Media Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Asian Studies, International Relations, Public Policy, Healthcare, Education, Judicial Reform, Gender and Minority Studies. The strength of this volume is in the collective efforts of accomplished experts providing in-depth analysis and up-to-date comprehensive coverage of Japan in the 21st century. Students will gain the analytical insights and information necessary to assess the challenges that confront the Japanese people, policymakers and private and public sector institutions. Key issues covered in this volume include: * Rapidly Aging society * Changing Employment system * Energy policy-Nuclear and Renewable * Gender discrimination * Immigration * Ethnic minorities * Trade policy * Civil society * Rural Japan * Okinawa * Post-3.11 Tsunami, earthquake, nuclear meltdown developments * Internationalization * Sino-Japanese relations * East Asia’s divisive history

Based on research financed by the Ford Foundation this book brings together the work of scholars and experts from China and Japan providing a detailed insight into China's relations with Japan. This ebook is also available within China: Making New Partnerships - A Rising China and its Neighbors.

From its insistence that Japan should favour diplomatic normalization with the Republic of China over the People’s Republic of China in 1952, through its role, via the Security Treaty, of keeping the ‘cap in the bottle’ of Japanese militarism, to weighing in on the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands dispute between China and Japan, the United States has played a pivotal, and at times controversial, role in the development of China-Japan relations since the end of World War II. By extension, US influence on China-Taiwan and Taiwan-Japan relations, in addition to its impact on the efforts of various actors to construct a Northeast Asian regional community, continues to pose important questions about the nature of the US role in East Asia in the 21st century. This volume provides a multi-faceted overview of the nature of America’s interaction in East Asia since the end of the war, and highlights the obstacles to improved bilateral and regional integration. The contributors offer a range of perspectives from their respective US, European, and East Asian vantage points, and point to the ongoing and prominent involvement of the US in the region for the foreseeable future.

This book looks at the relationship between Chinese international relations (IR) scholarship and China’s rise as a world power. Specifically, it addresses how China’s rising international status since the early 1990s has shaped the country’s IR studies, and the different ways that Chinese IR scholars are interpreting that rise. The author argues that the development of IR studies in China has been influenced by China’s past historical experiences, its recent change in status in world politics, and indigenous scholarly interpretations of both factors. Instead of treating Chinese IR scholars as value-free social scientists, the author shows how Chinese scholars—as purposive, strategic, and emotional actors—tend to manipulate existing (mostly Western) IR theories to support their policy propositions and identity statements. This book represents one of few efforts to determine how local Chinese scholars are constructing IR knowledge, how they are dealing with intersections between indigenous Chinese and imported IR theory and concepts, and how Chinese scholars are analyzing “their China” in terms of its current rise to power.