Japan's Subnational Governments in International Affairs

241 Pages·2005·1.1 MB·English

by  Purnendra Jain

Japan’s Subnational Governments
in International Affairs
It is a common understanding that Japan’s international relations are firmly the
preserve of the national government within a highly centralized political system.
This book dispels this belief by examining examples of subnational governments
(SNGs) which are highly instrumental in foreign affairs. It shows how SNGs are
operating as largely independent bodies in the international arena. This activity is
demonstrated through their involvement in trade, aid and economic cooperation
as well as cultural and educational programmes.
Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews, this book shows the valuable
role that SNGs fulfil operating largely outside of national government in pursuit
of both domestic and international goals. How, why and where these SNGs operate
in Japan’s international relations is explored alongside a comparative discussion
of other Asian examples, including China and India.
In this seminal work, Jain brings to light the scope and consequences of the
international actions of Japan’s SNGs. By doing so, he provides a more accurate
and nuanced understanding of Japan’s foreign policy and international actions at
a time when Japan is pursuing a broader and more active profile in international
affairs.
Purnendra Jainis Professor of Japanese Studies at the Centre for Asian Studies,
University of Adelaide, Australia. He specializes in the domestic and international
politics of contemporary Japan with other Asia–Pacific nations.
Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series
Series editor: Glenn D. Hook
Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Sheffield
This series, published by Routledge in association with the Centre for Japanese
Studies at the University of Sheffield, both makes available original research on
a wide range of subjects dealing with Japan and provides introductory overviews
of key topics in Japanese Studies.
The Internationalization of Japan
Edited by Glenn D. Hook and Michael Weiner
Race and Migration in Imperial Japan
Michael Weiner
Japan and the Pacific Free Trade Area
Pekka Korhonen
Greater China and Japan
Prospects for an economic partnership?
Robert Taylor
The Steel Industry in Japan
A comparison with the UK
Hasegawa Harukiyo
Race,Resistance and the Ainu of Japan
Richard Siddle
Japan’s Minorities
The illusion of homogeneity
Edited by Michael Weiner
Japanese Business Management
Restructuring for low growth and globalization
Edited by Hasegawa Harukiyo and Glenn D. Hook
Japan and Asia Pacific Integration
Pacific romances 1968–1996
Pekka Korhonen
Japan’s Economic Power and Security
Japan and North Korea
Christopher W. Hughes
Japan’s Contested Constitution
Documents and analysis
Glenn D. Hook and Gavan McCormack
Japan’s International Relations
Politics, economics and security
Glenn D. Hook, Julie Gilson, Christopher Hughes and Hugo Dobson
Japanese Education Reform
Nakasone’s legacy
Christopher P. Hood
The Political Economy of Japanese Globalisation
Glenn D. Hook and Hasegawa Harukiyo
Japan and Okinawa
Structure and subjectivity
Edited by Glenn D. Hook and Richard Siddle
Japan and Britain in the Contemporary World
Responses to common issues
Edited by Hugo Dobson and Glenn D. Hook
Japan and United Nations Peacekeeping
New pressures, new responses
Hugo Dobson
Japanese Capitalism and Modernity in a Global Era
Re-fabricating lifetime employment relations
Peter C. D. Matanle
Nikkeiren and Japanese Capitalism
John Crump
Production Networks in Asia and Europe
Skill formation and technology transfer in the automobile industry
Edited by Rogier Busser and Yuri Sadoi
Japan and the G7/8
1975–2002
Hugo Dobson
The Political Economy of Reproduction in Japan
Between nation-state and everyday life
Takeda Hiroko
Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan
The rebirth of a nation
Mari Yamamoto
Interfirm Networks in the Japanese Electronics Industry
Ralph Paprzycki
Globalisation and Women in the Japanese Workforce
Beverley Bishop
Contested Governance in Japan
Sites and issues
Edited by Glenn D. Hook
Japan’s International Relations
Politics, economics and security
Second Edition
Glenn D. Hook, Julie Gilson, Christopher Hughes and Hugo Dobson
Japan’s Changing Role in Humanitarian Crises
Yukiko Nishikawa
Japan’s Subnational Governments in International Affairs
Purnendra Jain
Japan’s Subnational
Governments in
International Affairs
Purnendra Jain
First published 2005
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 2005 Purnendra Jain
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Jain, Purnendra.
Japan’s subnational governments in international affairs /
by Purnendra Jain.
p. cm. – (Sheffield Centre for Japanese studies/Routledge series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Subnational governments–Japan–Foreign relations.
2. Japan–Foreign relations–1989– I. Title. II. Series.
JZ4059.J35 2005
327.52–dc22 2005005627
ISBN 0–415–33367–9 Master e-book ISBN
Contents
Preface ix
List of acronyms xiii
An outline of local government in Japan xv
Introduction 1
1 Contexts: conceptual, comparative and Japanese 12
2 Japanese SNGs as international actors: domestic dimensions 39
3 International exchanges: SNGs lead with a soft approach 63
4 International cooperation: a strategic edge 87
5 Economic diplomacy 113
6 Hard diplomacy: SNGs and national security 139
Conclusion 166
Notes 173
References 193
Index 205

Preface
From the early 1990s, my interest in Japanese local government and Japan’s
foreign affairs has continued to intersect for me, begging a comprehensive study
of Japan’s local governments as international actors in their own right. This book
is the result, a product of about a decade of thinking, questioning and researching
on this relatively unexplored subject. I could more fully focus my attention on this
study after I was awarded a large grant from the Australian Research Council for
a three-year period, 2001–03. This enabled me to pursue systematic research with
the help of part-time research assistants, and undertake empirical work through
fieldtrips in Japan and elsewhere. Without this grant, the book would have been
impossible, especially as the project needed frequent research trips to Japan to
collect information through interviews in localities across the country and library
research. The grant also provided me with teaching relief for one semester, which
greatly facilitated my writing and timely completion of the project. My sincere
thanks to the Australian Research Council.
As with any research project, support from a number of people became crucial.
Numerous national and local-level officials and politicians in Japan generously set
aside time to talk with me, share their ideas and insights and answer my specific
questions. Some also offered materials or supplied the ones that Irequested. It is
impossible to list all of their names and some, anyway, preferred to remain
anonymous. I certainly acknowledge here with deep appreciation their coopera-
tion, time and patience in carefully explaining some of the very complex issues in
this little-examined epistemic landscape. I especially mention CLAIR officials
in the Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore offices, who generously gave their
time and valuable verbal information and printed materials. Several officials in
theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs (now SomushoHome
Affairs), JETRO, JICA and JIAM readily agreed to answer my questions on the
wide-ranging issues examined in this book. Officials of Hokkaido, Miyagi, Gifu,
Hyogo, Niigata, Okinawa, Oita and Fukuoka Prefectures and Sapporo, Nagoya,
Hiroshima, Kobe, Kitakyushu and Niigata Cities were particularly generous with
their time. Staff at the Tokyo Municipal Research Library were very obliging,
especially Mr Tamura Yasuhiro and Mr Yanagihara Hirohiko. Inoguchi Takashi,
Shinohara Hajime, Menju Toshihiro, Yoshida Hitoshi, Nakamura Akira, Kanbara
Masaru, Tsujiyama Takanobu and Mizukami Tetsuo have advised, helped and
encouraged me throughout the project. I offer all of them my sincerest thanks.