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New inter-national and transnational complexities of economic and political relationships destabilize extant categories and units of analysis for studying trajectories of social change and explaining commonalities and differences of complex inequalities across countries. New insights on gender regime change emerge by shifting from a singular to a multi-scalar analytical frame. The paper argues that complex inequalities cannot be understood by studying a bounded geographic unit of analysis. Toward this end, the paper compares Germany and Japan in a world regional perspective, applying Walby's gender regime theory. Case comparisons of Germany and Japan not only reveal historical pathways of national developments, but also can show the benefits of a multi-scalar analytic in differentiating varieties and futures of gender regimes. An examination of the care economy shows why a multi-scalar analytic is critical for tracking the economic geographies of reproductive/care labor (both paid and unpaid). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues are among the most critical issues nowadays. These issues are no longer confined to individual countries, and international society has been progressing in building global dialogues since the early 1970s. Within these international efforts, Germany and Japan have played essential roles in global environmental governance. However, there are major differences in nation-level environmental policies in both countries. Governance based on network structure is more efficient than that based on hierarchy for solving complex problems. The network structure is formed through horizontal cooperation among various autonomous actors, and the relationship intensity among actors is one of the key concepts in the governance. Using social network analysis as a framework to explain complicated societal structures explains how interaction among actors creates networks, and these networks further affect their interactions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the structure of environmental policy governance as collaborative governance in Germany and Japan. To address this goal, this paper analyzes the relationship between the informational dimension of governance networks and its complement resource-sharing networks in both countries. The results show that the information-sharing networks have lower-level network influence on the resource-sharing networks as higher-level networks even if not all of the information factors have singular influences. The results suggest that the information-sharing networks may be one of the pieces of the puzzle for explaining this phenomenon in environmental governance in Germany and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to clarify in what ways school performance and out-of-school lessons are linked, with special emphasis on social disparities in educational attainment. Previous research about shadow education indicates that out-of-school education may indeed be a factor to improve the academic achievement of school students. On the other hand, it is stated nearly without exception that the socioeconomic background of a student plays a significant role for academic achievement as well. Using data of the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this paper shows new findings in comparing effects of shadow education investments on students' performance in Japan and Germany. We found that out-of-school education investments in both countries led to four significant outcomes: (i) in Japan, high school students' academic achievement is increased due to out-of-school lessons; (ii) in both countries there is great variation in how out-of-school lessons affect academic performance according to the types of out-of-school lessons and the area of stay; (iii) out-of-school education determines higher achievement scores in international comparison in a decisive way and therefore provides a reasonable explanation for the Japanese success in PISA; and (iv) since the mid-1990s the system in Japan has advanced from a mixed to a predominantly enrichment out-of-school education system, while the German out-of-school education system is still of remedial character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes public policy and public opinion responses toward immigrants in Germany and Japan, two countries whose immigration policies have relied on blood purity (jus sanguinis). The paper retraces the rationale for jus sanguinis and contends that it was adopted at the turn of the century in both countries out of political convenience. The principles and goals of immigration policies are compared cautioning that better principles must not mean better outcomes. It is reiterated that Germany has made a politically motivated move away from the ethnic monocultural concept, whereas Japan still hangs on more or less to the old model of silent and subtle assimilation. The more dissuasive Japanese model of tight immigration control, deportation and monocultural assimilation isthen compared to the more permissive German immigration model. A comparison of identity discourses in the form of Japanese Nihonjinron and German Leitkultur shows that both countries struggle with identifying and asserting their core values and that this has a negative impact on integration issues. The paper concludes that Germany has failed to bear the full consequences of its ambitious plans by taking into account the values, beliefs and worldviews of its immigrants, whereas Japan continues to treat immigrants as temporary guests denying any need for long-term integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the policy choices of Germany and Japan for contributing to international security and stability in Afghanistan. Both countries have been closely involved with Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks 2001. It is argued that the policy choice of Japan with a low military element and high civilian element differs significantly from the German military centered approach. An analysis of the goals and motives behind the foreign policy choices reveals that in Germany the military involvement has been justified with humanitarian reasons, national self interests and the right to 'unlimited' sovereignty. This logic has ultimately led to the acceptance of civilian casualties and participation into offensive counterinsurgency operations. It is suggested that elite driven discourses have determined foreign policy strategy. In the case of Japan the paper claims that the conservative LDP elite had been pushing for intensified military involvement which materialized in the dispatch of military vessels to the Indian Ocean and ground forces to Iraq. Similar to Germany these moves towards gaining international reputation were rooted in domestic politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to compare typical social problems in Germany and Japan in the context of weavers and female weavers. Design/methodology/approach — The paper compares Gerhardt Hauptmann's Weavers (1892) with Wakizo Hosoi's The Tragic History of Female Weavers (1925). Findings — Despite remarkable differences, there are many similarities between the two works in terms of the economic situations in Germany and Japan. Originality/value — The paper explores differences and similarities in the two works and highlights some typical examples of social problems common to both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power generation in Japan is underdeveloped. Despite relatively good geographical and meteorological conditions, wind supplies less than 0.2% of the national electricity demand. Germany, in contrast, is able to provide over 6% of its electricity from wind power. This article will outline the main reasons for the marginal position of wind power in Japan by comparing and contrasting it with the political market for wind power in Germany. Using the concept of ‘Technological Innovation Systems’ (TIS), this paper will show how wind power has been impeded in Japan, but has been fostered in Germany, where policy designs and market mechanisms have produced positive feedback loops. Both technical problems and political inertia account for the modest growth of wind power in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional financial arrangements and monetary integration in East Asia and Europe have made considerable progress in recent years. This paper discusses whether governments in both regions, Japan and Germany as the most advanced regional economies in particular, can use the new dynamics as levers to raise their status vis-à-vis the United States. It will be argued that activities are defensive rather than offensive, aiming at protecting the respective region from financial risk. Japan, in particular, would find it difficult to raise its status vis-à-vis the United States significantly by promoting regional financial and monetary integration, principal reasons being actor heterogeneity, the role of China, hesitation to bear burden and risk, and the historical legacy of a bank-oriented system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Germany and Japan are going through major energy reforms, natural gas consumption is taking a growing share in their energy supply. This paper adopts a Machine Learning approach to assess the causal link between natural gas consumption and economic growth for both economies. A Causal Direction from Dependency (D2C) algorithm with the interconnection of the sub-class is employed using yearly data from 1970 to 2018. The interconnections of the sub-classes are found for both economies, indicating evidence of causalities operating in both directions. In addition, the propagation over the seven eras is linear and homogeneously continue for Japan, while this effect meets a stabilization phase in the fifth era for Germany. The empirical findings claim strong support for the existence of a bidirectional causality between these variables in Germany and Japan, which is in line with the "feedback hypothesis". Although the strength of this bidirectional relationship is clear for both economies, its time-propagation is expected to be longer for Japan. Accordingly, this study claims that the gas supply should be further strengthened to progressively replace the most polluting fuels (oil and coal) and ensure a feasible transition towards a renewable path. • The causal link between natural gas consumption and economic growth exists for both countries. • Predictive analysis highlights a propagation effect between natural gas consumption and economic growth for both economies. • We found empirical sustain for the "feedback hypothesis" for Germany and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]