Japanese Research

An Analysis of Japan’s Foreign Policy during the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

QIAO Linsheng

2023, 37(2): 1-13. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.001

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The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict had a great impact on the Japanese society, which had been under the influence of pacifism for a long time. The Japanese government not only condemned Russia’s military actions, but also cooperated with European and American countries to assist Ukraine and gradually strengthened economic sanctions against Russia. At the bilateral level, Japan's diplomatic measures directly led to the significant deterioration of Japan-Russia relations, promoted the rapid improvement of JapanUkraine relations, and further strengthened the alliance between Japan and the United States. At the multilateral level, it has promoted cooperation between Japan and G7 countries, strengthened Japan's ties with NATO, and also led to Japan increasing its efforts to promote the Indo-Pacific strategy. At the same time, the Russia-Ukraine Conflict accelerated the transformation of Japan's security strategy and propelled Japan towards a “normalized country”. The Japanese government has provided non-lethal military equipment such as body armor and helmets to Ukraine, which is in a state of war, for the first time, and Prime Minister Kishida also made an exception to become the first Japanese leader to visit a war area in Japan's post-war history.

The Cognitive Logic of Energy Security in Post-War Japan: Also on the Energy Cognition During the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

YIN Xiaoliang, LI Tianyi

2023, 37(2): 14-22. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.002

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“Energy cognition” is a precondition for the formulation and implementation of energy policies, while energy policies are the product of “energy cognition”. In post-war Japan, cognition of energy security has undergone a structural transformation from a “single view” to a “comprehensive view”. In terms of connotation, it has undergone a process of “coal security concept” -“oil security concept” -“3E security concept” - “3E+S security concept”. Both the “coal security concept” and the “oil security concept” are based on a single energy source, which featured the “incrementorientedness” in policy design and practice. In the early 1990s, Japan deepened its cognition by adding “economic efficiency” and “environmental” to the single “energy security”. However, the 311 earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident revealed the shortcomings of the “3E security concept” . In response, Japan added “safety“ and upgraded it to the “3E+S security concept”, which balanced security with stability, efficiency and environmental protection. After the Russia-Ukraine conflict, there are emerging changes of the cognition of energy security in Japan,such as from a defensive approach to energy risks to active participation in global energy security governance, and a combination of the goals in “ex-Russia” and “ex-carbon”.

The Japanese Economy Under the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Shocks, Countermeasures, and Structural Dilemmas

HE Cheng

2023, 37(2): 23-37. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.003

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The RussiaUkraine conflict has caused great uncertainty to the world economy, and the impact was quickly transmitted to Japan through trade and investment channels. The Japanese economy has been hit hard by the RussiaUkraine conflict. At the macro level, Japans real GDP has relapsed into recession, with high prices, sluggish consumer demand, and the current account balance turning from positive to negative. At the micro level, the business environment of enterprises has seriously deteriorated, especially for the small and mediumsized enterprises. Due to the squeezed profit margins, those enterprises are facing a crisis of survival. In response to the shock, Japan adopted relatively active economic countermeasures. However, these internal and external economic policies present various contradictions, exposing the internal structural difficulties of the Japanese economy. Currently, Japan takes the RussiaUkraine conflict as an opportunity to accelerate the promotion of economic security. But the real problems for Japan do not come from external uncertainties, but are rooted within the Japanese economy. Once the economic security strategy turn towards industrial protectionism, it will not only fail to guarantee basic economic security, but will bring even greater crises to the Japanese economy.

Consistency or Inconsistency Between Diplomatic Language and Actions: The Logic of Japan's Diplomacy Toward Russia in the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict

ZHANG Jiayu

2023, 37(2): 38-48. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.004

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This paper provides an analysis of Japans diplomatic approach towards Russia during the RussianUkrainian conflict, which reflects the contradictory and pragmatic characteristics inherent in Japanese diplomacy. By integrating materialistic and idealistic factors proposed by Wendt, this study examines Japans diplomatic language and actions. The findings indicate that Japans cognition of national interests, encompassing economic wealth and selfesteem, is jointly determined by materialistic and idealistic factors, thereby influencing the consistency or inconsistency between Japans diplomatic language and actions. When materialistic and idealistic factors have the same influence on the cognition of national interests, or when they are inconsistent but materialistic factors are not directly related to national security, Japan maintains consistency between diplomatic language and actions. However, when materialistic and idealistic factors clash in their influence on the cognition of national interests, particularly when materialistic factors directly relate to national security, Japan reveals incongruity between its diplomatic language and actions. In light of this, China should not only “heed its words” but also “observe its actions” closely, scrutinizing the underlying logic behind Japans diplomatic language and actions in order to discern the true intentions behind Japans diplomacy.

An Analysis of Sino-Japanese Academic Exchanges since the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations ——Centered on Japanese Studies

TANG Yongliang, WANG Zhentao

2023, 37(2): 49-60. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.005

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It has been half a century since the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. During this period, along with the changes in the international political structure and the domestic situations of China and Japan, the political relations between the two countries have been moving forward amidst fluctuations, while cultural exchanges, including academic exchanges, have become an important bridge to promote communication and mutual understanding between the two countries. Taking Japanese studies as the starting point and focusing on the main subjects and important events of Sino-Japanese academic exchanges since the establishment of diplomatic relations, we try to analyze the process, characteristics and functions of Sino-Japanese academic exchanges, which may provide a perspective for constructing Sino-Japanese relations in the new era.

A Review of Domestic Research on Issues Related to Japan and Africa in the 21st Century

ZOU Shengying

2023, 37(2): 61-69. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.006

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Since the beginning of the Cold War, with the independence of African colonies, Japan has begun to pay attention to the emergence of young countries on the African continent. For Japan, Africa is of unique strategic importance, not only because it contains a lot of natural resources, but also has a market with a large population, and the cooperation of African countries helps Japan to pursue its UN diplomacy. Compared with research on China-Japan, Japan-U.S., and Japan-Europe related issues, domestic academics started late in the study of Japan-Africa related issues. But as China-Africa cooperation becomes closer and the African continent has once again become the stage of the great power game,studying Japan-Africa relations, Japans strategy towards Africa and Japan's dynamics in Africa can not only enrich our understanding of Japan's future direction, but also, by looking into the case of Japan's assistance to Africa, provide important implications for China to play an active role in international affairs.

Practice of Japanese Electoral Politics from the End of Edo Period to the Early Meiji Period

ZHANG Yanru

2023, 37(2): 70-80. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.02.007

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From the End of Edo Period to the Early Meiji Period, there were active theoretical discussions in the Japanese government and civil society on electoral politics. With the gradual deepening of theoretical discussion, in the realm of political thought, the meaning of election has gradually changed from official selection and recommendation to parliamentary election. Accompanied by theoretical discussion, the central and local governments at all levels have also tried out some election measures and electoral system investigation in the frequent system adjustment. The Gisei-kan, The kogisho, The shugiin, The Sain and The Genroin all had the nature of institutions that discuss politics, and there was a certain inheritance relationship between them. The selection of the constituent members of those institutions and the institutional investigation carried out by them are all aimed at enlarging the scope of political participants and promoting talents. It can be seen as a conservative electoral political practice by the central government. At the same time, accompanied by the local system reform, especially driven by the freedom and civil rights movement, the government carried out relatively open electoral political practice at the local level. The practice of election of members of the local assembly had accumulated experience in the design of the election system when the assembly was later established, and cultivated talents for political discussion. In the discussions and practices of early election politics, we can see not only the mixture and collision of western political ideas and traditional political culture, but also the interweaving and entanglement of different political trends, political demands, and political explorations. The complex political reality of the early Meiji era is revealed.

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