Table of Content

25 October 2021, Volume 35 Issue 5

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Causes, Countermeasures, and Implications of Overwork and Karoshi Phenomenon in Japan

HU Peng

2021, 35(5):  1-9.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.001

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The long-term fatigue caused by high labor intensity, long working hours, and excessive psychological pressure leads to the persistent overwork phenomenon which poses a serious threat to peoples lives. As a country with a high incidence rate of karoshi in western countries, the phenomenon of overwork and karoshi has lasted for a long time in Japan. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, the frequent occurrence of karoshi in Japan attracted much attention of the wide public. The system of lifetime employment, the seniority system, the gender division of labor, the survival difficulties of informally employed workers, and the deep-rooted overtime culture of Japanese companies are the main reasons for the phenomenon of overwork. In order to solve this serious social problem, the Japanese government and the private sector have adopted a variety of countermeasures:enriching and improving relevant laws to prevent karoshi, formulating and refining the identification standard of regarding karoshi as a kind of work-related injury that should be compensated, popularizing correct concept of labor, promoting the reform of working methods and so on. A series of such countermeasureshave alleviated Japans overwork problem to a certain extent. Japans countermeasures against overwork and karoshi have some implications for China.

On the Silk Road Cultural Identity of Japanese Society and the Aging of Sino-Japanese Communication

LI Shu-qin

2021, 35(5):  10-19.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.002

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In the 1980s,the Silk Road cultural identity widely formed in Japanese society was closely related to the exchanges between China and Japan. It is a cultural phenomenon caused by the interaction of different mechanisms.The connotation of this cultural identity lies in the Chinese origin of Buddhist culture and Japanese culture.The prerequisite of its formation mechanism is the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship.It is conditional on the innovation of cultural consumption patterns and the growth of cultural consumption demand in the mature period of Japans modernization. It uses new media channels such as television and movies as its means of dissemination. It is based on the ancient cultural exchanges between China and Japan that introduced and integrated Chinese Buddhism into Japan, which became a Japanese cultural tradition. It takes the form of reinterpreting traditions and cultural memories.From the perspective of the timeliness of Sino-Japanese communication,Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations at that time produced immediate effects,which opened the way for the emergence of this cultural phenomenon,while the results of the ancient Sino-Japanese cultural communication have paved the way.

Viewing the New Trends of Japans Economic Diplomacy in Southeast Asia from the New Trends in Japan-Vietnam Relations

BAI Ru-chun

2021, 35(5):  20-26.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.003

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With economic diplomacy as the main means, Japan values and actively promotes all-round diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Yoshihide Suga selected Vietnam and Indonesia for his diplomatic debut in less than a month after he formed his cabinet, making it clearer the trend of Japans emphasis on ASEAN diplomacy and exerting influence on ASEAN through Vietnam, Indonesia and other key countries since Abes second cabinet. Vietnam holds the 2020 ASEAN presidency and is also a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council that year. Vietnam hopes to establish a regional and even international image through its coordination role within ASEAN and between ASEAN and relevant countries in the region. Vietnam, which is implementing a policy of “renovation and opening up”, has high hopes for Japans capital, technology, and market, and has also made it clear that Vietnam welcomes Japans role in the field of security. Japan is looking for opportunities to get involved in the economic, political, and security fields to help Vietnams economic and social development while containing Chinas growing influence in the region.The successful signing of RCEP at the end of 2020 will bring new opportunities for East Asian cooperation, and East Asian economic cooperation will be further deepened.With ASEAN as the core, it is an inevitable trend to promote multilateral regional economic cooperation among China, Japan, ASEAN, and the Mekong Sub-region countries, and to push forward Japan-Vietnam, China-Vietnam, and China-Japan bilateral regional economic cooperation.

The Relationship Between the Japanese Emperor and Japanese State Form from the Perspective of the Constitution

LI Chao

2021, 35(5):  27-37.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.004

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Although the meaning of the concept “Japanese state form”is quite different before and after World War II, it can be reflected from the status and role of the emperor in the constitutional system.Before the Second World War, the Japanese state form was an important concept in the field of law and politics. The legal basis and connotation established by it were concentratedly embodied in the provisions of the Meiji Constitution concerning the emperors supremacy of state power and other theocracy status.After World War Ⅱ, the Japanese government insisted on the interpretation of the so-called “post-war state form unchanged”,and bound the concept of the Japanese state form with the symbolic emperor system established by the post-war constitution, resulting in the creation of the symbolic image of the emperor directly related to the changes in the so-called post-war state form.By examining the status and role of the emperor in the pre-war and post-war constitutional systems, we can know that the relationship between the role of the emperor in the political life of the country and the Japanese state form in modern times is like two sides of the same coin. They are closely related to each other and cannot be separated.

An Analysis of Japanese Industrial Chain Reconstruction Policy and Its Impact Under the Impact of the Epidemic

TIAN Zheng

2021, 35(5):  38-48.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.005

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As the trend of globalization recedes, the phenomenon of divestment of the Japanese companies has attracted increasing attention. The industrial chain rupture caused by the impact of the epidemic has prompted Japan to maintain the stability of the industrial chain to a strategic level.Promoting the return of manufacturing companies to mainland Japan and achieving diversification of production in Southeast Asia are two important directions for the restructuring of Japanese industrial chain. The Japanese government has introduced an industrial chain adjustment policy and adopted industrial subsidy measures, which has produced practical effects for Japanese companies to transform their industrial chain.In the short term, the supply of Japanese medical and health equipment and key parts supply has been strengthened, and in the long term, the process of diversification and dispersion of Japanese companies industrial chains has been accelerated.The current impact on the stable development of Chinas economy is relatively small, and China-Japan economic and trade relations have withstood the dual challenges of Sino-US trade frictions and the impact of the epidemic, and there has been no large-scale withdrawal of Japanese companies.

A Study on Host Country Characteristics and Industry Heterogeneity of Japans Motivation for OFDI in Asia

ZHENG Lei,ZHU Ning,LAN Tian

2021, 35(5):  49-62.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.006

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In the strategic deployment of Japans OFDI, Asian countries(regions)have been playing an important role. The differences in economic environment, political system, and factor endowment among Asian countries affect the formulation and adjustment of internal management plans and foreign investment strategies of Japanese MNCs. In this paper, the micro-data of 1,242 Japanese enterprises carrying out OFDI in 11 countries(regions)in Asia from 2007 to 2018 are adopted to empirically study the OFDI of Japanese MNCs in Asia from the perspective of investment motivation by taking the method of logit model and count model. The results show that firstly, Japan focuses more on Asian countries(regions)with better investment system environment, and obviously prefers market seeking, efficiency seeking, and resource seeking investments, while asset seeking investments are lacking. Secondly, from the perspective of countries, Japan is more market-driven in its investment in China and India, more efficiency-oriented in its investment in the five ASEAN countries, and more concerned about the institutional environment in its investment in the NIEs. Thirdly, from the perspective of industry, Japans OFDI of manufacturing industry is more efficiency-seeking, while that of mining industry is resource-seeking and that of service industry is more sensitive to the market size of a host country.

The Characteristics and Trends of Bilateral Trade between China and Japan under COVID-19

LI Qing-ru

2021, 35(5):  63-71.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.007

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In 2020, Japans total foreign trade fell due to the severe impact of COVID-19, with its bilateral trade with most partners shrinking to varying degrees. However, Sino-Japanese trade recovered steadily and in particular Japans exports to China increased in spite of various negative factors. Chinas share in Japans total exports and imports has increased. Sino-Japanese economic and trade ties are more closely linked both from the supply side and the demand side, and East Asian supply chain becomes even more resilient. In the post COVID-19 era and faced with growing uncertainty of world economy, Sino-Japanese economic and trade cooperation is still of great importance to the economic development of both countries and the stability of regional supply chain and economic development.

Japans Punishment of Stalking Behavior and Its Implications

ZHENG Lin,JIN Tao

2021, 35(5):  72-80.  DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.05.008

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Japans Stalker Regulation Law was formulated based on the homicide that occurred in 1999. Since the enactment of the Stalker Regulation Law in 2000, every time a new type of stalking incident occurs, it had to be revised. The law has been revised three times in 2013, 2016, and 2021. In the first revision, the behavior of sending e-mail was included in the objects of penalty, and in the second revision, the stalking behavior related to SNS was strengthened. The third revision added punishment for obtaining location information through Global Positioning System without the permission of the other party and installing positioning equipment without the consent of the other party. The specific contents of Japans Stalker Regulation Law and its three revisions, as well as the ways to solve the stalking problem in the form of legislation and official and non-governmental cooperation, has some implications for China.