Japanese Research

DecisionMaking Process and Characteristics of Kishida Cabinet‘s Defense Policy Adjustment:Taking the Advance of Counterstrike Capabilities as an Example

BAO Xiaqin, CHEN Dengping

2023, 37(5): 1-12. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.001

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Kishida Cabinet‘s revision of the three security documents is a major adjustment of Japan’s defense policy after World War II, and its core is to possess the counterstrike capabilities. Because of Kishidas weak political base and weak cabinet, he had to rely on the Liberal Democratic Party and the United States to assist in decisionmaking. Driven by him, the LDP played a key role in the decisionmaking process about the counterstrike capabilities, and this process reflected the obvious characteristic of “High Government and High Party”. The LDP had led the discussion on the specifics of the counterstrike capabilities and had clarified the equipment and technology needed for them in cooperation with the Defense Ministry. However, the conservative forces of the LDP, which had been gaining power, were in conflict with Kishida over the budget and financial resources needed for the counterstrike capabilities, threatening his decisionmaking power. On the other hand, the United States also played a boosting and accelerating role in the decisionmaking process, and may continue to affect the implementation process of Japan’s counterstrike capabilities in the future.

An Analysis of Hara Cabinet‘s Reforms of Official Appointment System

WEN Chunmei

2023, 37(5): 13-21. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.002

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In Japanese academia, the relationship between pre-World War II Japanese political parties and bureaucrats has traditionally been seen as one of opposition. However, during the late Meiji era to the early Taisho era, a distinct political system known as the “Kei-En System” emerged. This system saw Katsura Taro, representing the domain-based bureaucrats, and Saionji Kinmochi, the president of the Rikken Seiyūkai (Association of Friends of Constitutional Government), taking turns in power for 12 years. The “Kei-En System” reflected a nuanced political structure that went beyond mere confrontation, incorporating elements of coordinated cooperation between political parties and bureaucrats. This paper delves into the insights provided by the Hara Takashi Diary to analyze the concepts behind the reforms of official appointment system and their implementation by Hara Takashi, who was also the president of the Rikken Seiyūkai. It demonstrates how Hara successfully brought numerous experienced bureaucrats into the folds of the Rikken Seiyūkai and implemented reform measures, including broadening the scope for making appointments to highgrade senior officials. These measures not only expanded the Rikken Seiyūkai‘s influence to encompass antiparty domain-based bureaucrats,but also hastened the trend of bureaucrats joining political parties and running for elected positions-an occurrence referred to as the “bureaucratic partyization”.At the same time, by continuing the strategy of “bureaucratic partyization” that had been in place since the Kei-En era, Hara absorbed a large number of senior officials with administrative experience into the Rikken Seiyūkai (Association of Friends of Constitutional Government), thus reserving administrative talents for the transition to party politics.

A Study on Changes of Family Structure in Japan

WANG Lei1, ZHANG Zhuoran2

2023, 37(5): 22-31. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.003

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Family is the basic unit of social composition, and the family structure affects the overall social and economic development of the population through its direct effect on family relations and family functions. Based on the data of previous national surveys, this paper comprehensively describes the overall situation and prominent characteristics of family structure changes in Japan from 1960 to 2020, and systematically analyzes the dynamic mechanism of family structure changes and its impact on Japan’s population, social development, and economic development. The findings are as follows. Firstly, while the total number of Japanese households continues to expand, the average size of the households keeps shrinking. Secondly, the overall trends of Japanese family household structure include the stability of nuclear families, the decline of stem families and the rise of single households. Lastly, the overall characteristics of the change of nuclear families include the shrinkage of the standard nuclear families, the expansion of the nuclear families consisting of only one couple and the slight increase of singleparent nuclear families. The author believes that the multiple driving forces of Japanese family structure change are demographic, economic, social, and cultural causes including subreplacement fertility and aging population, stagnation of economic development and increase of female labor force participation rate, collapse of family system and equality of the family system, and the trend of staying single and emancipation of women’s mind. The changes of Japanese family structure have a profound impact on its population, social, economic, and cultural development.

An Analysis of the Japanese Industry Associations Perception of “Nuclear Wastewater Disposal”

FENG Ningmo, YOU Liliang

2023, 37(5): 32-39. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.004

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The study of Japanese industry associations‘ perceptions of “nuclear sewage disposal” is of practical significance in grasping the domestic public opinion faced by the Japanese government’s forcible activation of “nuclear wastewater disposal”, and has an important reference value in judging the political and economic impacts of “nuclear wastewater disposal”. This article selects nine mainstream industry associations in Japan as analysis samples and examines nine representative research results published by them. Research shows that the Japanese industry associations perception of “nuclear wastewater disposal” is mainly driven by rational opposition, while economic interests, respect for science, and responsiveness to public opinion are the main drivers of its perception. The dissemination of these perceptions of rational opposition may deepen the Japanese people‘s skepticism towards “nuclear wastewater disposal”, and may even lead to continuous protests by the people. Although the perception of stubborn support echoes the “harmlessness theory” of the Japanese government and the United States, it is difficult to appease the Japanese people.

Research on the Impact of Japanese Government Investment Intervention on the Profitability of SMR

YANG Yusen

2023, 37(5): 40-53. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.005

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As a chartered company, the South Manchuria Railway Company, Ltd. (SMR) is regarded as a typical case of the interaction between Japanese bureaucracy and enterprises. There is a strong economic and political relationship between the Japanese government and the SMR. However, existing research seldom analyzes divergences of Japanese government‘s intervention in various periods from the perspective of business history, nor does it discuss the economic impact of such intervention on the SMR’s operation. In fact, As a chartered company, the South Manchuria Railway Company, Ltd. (SMR) is regarded as a typical case of the interaction between Japanese bureaucracy and enterprises. There is a strong economic and political relationship between the Japanese government and the SMR. However, existing research seldom analyzes divergences of Japanese government‘s intervention in various periods from the perspective of business history, nor does it discuss the economic impact of such intervention on the SMR’s operation. In fact, the distribution of internal investment among various industrial sectors can be a new historical evidence for the Japanese government’s intervention in the operation of the SMR in different historical periods. Empirical tests based on historical data prove that state intervention marked by the growth of railway investment in the SMR directly stimulates the enterprise‘s profitability. This fully confirms the historical attributes of the SMR as an instrument of Japanese militarism's economic colonization.

Lu Xun’s Criticism of “National Character” and Its Japanese Influence and Cultural Transcendence

HAO Yu1, HAO Congcong2

2023, 37(5): 54-63. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.006

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Based on the literature on Lu Xun research over the years, this paper examines the various influences that Lu Xun received during the period from his study in Japan, his abandonment of medicine and his turn to literature, to the emergence of his “national character” thought, and analyzes the differences between Lu Xun’s thoughts on Chinese “national character” and Japanese “national character”. According to historical materials, Lu Xun was deeply influenced by the research on “national character” in Japan at that time. Moreover, the origin of Lu Xun‘s attention to the issue of “national character” was to a large extent due to the influence from Japanese culture, especially from the Japanese cultural atmosphere during his stay in Japan. Yaichi Haga’s Kokuminsei Jyuronn (Ten Essays on National Character) especially inspired Lu Xun to establish his concept of “national character”. However, the reason why the title of this paper is “Lu Xun‘s Criticism of ‘National Character’ and Its Japanese Influence and Cultural Transcendence” is mainly because Lu Xun, through his own digestion and transformation, injected new concepts and new ideas, including “national character”, into his works. His concept of “national character” is actually an reverse use of Yaichi Haga’s thoughts on Japanese “national character”, thus achieving a transcendence of Japan‘s “national character” research. That is to say, Lu Xun’s use of the concept of “national character” was not a copy of Yaichi Haga‘s original meaning, but rather a reversal of it. From Yaichi Haga‘s praise of his Japanese “national character”, he made a profound criticism of our nation‘s “national character” based on the actual national spirit of our country at that time. Today, we reexamine the origin and development of Lu Xun’s fierce criticism of “national character”, and use it as a starting point for further research, and conduct more indepth academic exploration and discussion.

Analysis on the Changes and Causes of Extinction of Kokka Shinto During the Period of Japanese Occupation in Taiwan

NI Xia

2023, 37(5): 64-71. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.007

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After Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government created Kokka Shinto, a religion combining the country‘s political and religious power, to support its Mikado systerm. During its occupation in Taiwan, the Japanese government introduced Kokka Shinto to the locals in a compulsory way to slowly influence their original beliefs in an attempt to destroy the cultural ties between Taiwan and Chinese mainland. However, as a political tool with the intention of invading, Kokka Shinto was resisted by most Taiwan people. It is the deep connection of culture and belief between people across the Strait that makes Kokka Shinto fail to operate in Taiwan. From the perspective of culture transmission, the paper analyzes the changes and extinction of Kokka Shinto during the period of Japanese occupation in Taiwan and reveals the fundamental reasons why it cannot be localized in Taiwan.

Goto Asataro and the Beginning of Gardening in Modern Japan

ZHOU Tangbo, LI Siyu

2023, 37(5): 72-80. DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2023.05.008

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Chinese expert Goto Asataro has always been known for his achievements in sinology and philology, but his important role in the development of horticulture in modern Japan has been overlooked. Based on the social background of the development of horticulture in modern Japan, this paper analyzes the important role played by Asataro Goto in the founding of the Japanese Garden Association and the Tokyo Higher Landscape School based on firsthand historical data, and affirms his authoritative position in the development of modern Japanese horticulture in focusing on Chinese landscape research.

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