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This paper aims to show that there is stronger correlation between the level of economic development, rather than propensity of government, and openness of foreign policy. It has been known that a general rule of nations’ reaction in terms of foreign relations is difficult to materialize due to contextual particularities of each society. However, it is crucial to examine the society as a body of diverse interests and modes of projecting such interests that leads to the formation of particular foreign policies. Specific interests will be noted along with coinciding interests shared by the losers of the economic reform and the level of openness within a given society. Level of economic reform and democracyâ€"independent variableâ€"and the openness of foreign policyâ€"dependent variableâ€"or willingness to cooperate and dependency towards transnational institutions will be examined. This, as a result, will show that the level of economic development and the concomitant national pride promotes cooperation among nations, thus enabling the formation of regional communities. Some aspects of NATO will be noted in to draw positive conclusions about the prospects of security community formation within North East Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I trace the origins of Article Nine, the 'peace plank' of Japan's postwar constitution, to the American outlawry of war movement and investigate its relationship to the transformation of Japanese political culture from one that was illiberal and authoritarian to one in which democracy came to be associated with antimilitarism. While the role of constitutional frameworks has been investigated in terms of democratic transitions and consolidation, the present study considers the impact of Japan’s peace constitution on the development of a pacifist political culture, one in which citizens continue to “renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.” (Article Nine, Paragraph One) ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I examine the effectiveness of political communication among citizens, media, and parties during election campaigns..x000d.Election campaigns play important roles in democracy. Despite that, Japanese election campaigns are short and restricted. It is said that effects of Japanese election campaigns are limited, but, there are little research that disputes the truth of such declarations. My paper tests whether Japanese campaigns work for voters or not, and, I reveal who is affected. Especially, on the views of political information and changing people’s cognition, I check the democratic dificit during election campaigns. My hypothesis is that restricted conditions, such as Japan, produce gaps and inequalities during election campaigns. In less regulated systems, information reaches most citizens, but regulated systems function only for more motivated people. This structure leads to information gaps and inequalities, political distrust and less political efficacy for example, in democratic countries..x000d.I use data from the 2003 Japanese National House of Representatives Election(JES?: Japanese Election Study ?) and analyze information processing. This research will show the significance and shortcomings of Japanese election campaigns. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the question why democracy put down roots in Japan by examining a process through which culturally fragmented communities are integrated into a political community through state making, nation-building, and democratization. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the diplomatic normalization by the 1965 Basic Treaty with Japan, the Republic of Korea (hereafter, South Korea or ROK) still used Japan's past wrongs and/or South Korea's security contribution to Japan as a means of gaining bargaining leverage over Japan. For example, the Chun Doo-hwan regime (1980-87) in South Korea often invoked history and security to put pressure on Japan in unrelated issues, such as trade and government loan, equating Japanese concessions with evidence of its genuine repentance. After the late 1990s, however, South Korea appears to have discarded this strategy of associating history or security with economic issues in its foreign policy-making toward Japan. Why did South Korea abandon the previously oft-used strategy of utilizing history or security as a method of obtaining bargaining leverage over Japan?In addressing this question, I argue that although not a deterministic factor, a change in the self-perception of South Koreans from "dependent" upon to "competitors" with Japan provided the ROK policymakers with an environment in which with enhanced confidence they seek to separate economy from political issues. More specifically, the disintegration of South Korea's vertical economic structure with Japan since the early 1990s resulted in the alteration in the self-perception of South Koreans from "dependent" upon to "competitors" with Japan. This perceptual change contributed to the promotion of South Korean policymakers' confidence toward Japan, thereby placing psychological constraints on their keeping the strategy of using history or security as a tool to put pressure on Japan in economic issues. The ROK democratization, furthermore, led to the establishment of the institutionalized foreign policy making process, thus placing serious institutional constraints on South Korean policymakers' keeping their former strategy to connect history or security with economic issues in its foreign policies toward Japan. Under democracy, South Korean Presidents still contained the authority to make a final decision, yet they got placed under heavy institutional constraints emanating from other actors, such as diverse government organizations, the National Assembly, civic/academic organizations, and the mass media. Unlike past practices, the ROK Presidents under a democratic system became unable to push through their own policy ideas without taking other voices into account. Under this condition, therefore, it was quite difficult for South Korean policymakers - holding the changed self-perception from "dependent" upon to "competitors" with Japan - to keep using the former history- or security- related negotiation strategy toward Japan. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In seeking to explain how democracies attempt to win the peace, this study examines the policies designed for the occupations of Germany and Japan, specifically examining how democracies balanced carrots and sticks. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]