Untapped resorvoir of interest in everything Japanese

N.I.P.

C3S10

Intensive discussions

Japanese political economy, international relations, diplomacy

N.I.P.

taniguchi@sdm.keio.ac.jp

Non-existent

The instructor is a tenured member of the faculty. He also is a practitioner, a non-permanent member of the Prime Minister\'s advisory board (Special Adviser to the Prime Minister\'s Cabinet,) working closely with PM Shinzo Abe for his strategic communications.

For the classes on October 16, 23, December 4 and 11, we will be starting as normal at 9:00 but ending at 12:00 without any break. There will be no class held on October 30. You must take the above into your scheduling consideration so that you should neither miss the class nor make no double-bookings.

This class is for you to further your interest in Japan and how the country has viewed itself, or has been viewed by others outside the country. It is intended not so much to give you a fixed amount of knowledge as to provoke your thoughts to the extent you could yourself advance your own interest in the country and its culture.

The class-structure is interactive from the beginning through to the end. Few power-point slide presentations will be used in order for your instructor to better stimulate class-room discussions per se.

For this year\'s course the instructor will use the writings of a newspaper man Hal A. Drake. Using his articles as discussion materials, the instructor will walk you through Japan\'s politico-economic history and the genesis of many of its institutions.

The instructor picks up one member of the class each time and gives her/him an assignment, which is at the following class first to summarize what the assigned material argues and second to introduce what kind of phenomena it dealt with. The whole idea behind it being to familiarise yourself with the path Japan in and around the 1960s walked, s/he must look into the historical background and be able to share that knowledge with the rest of the class. It will in that way also help build your English presentation proficiency, an asset invaluable for your professional career. The topics Hal Drake touched upon varied, from hard-core politics to performing arts. You must remain interested in what he had to say, regardless of the topics. Not only the assigned presenter but also all the other participants must join the class always with full knowledge of the assigned article by themselves having learnt what the incidents the article dealt with meant, what the place names represented and who the main characters in question were.

For each meeting your tutor will provide you with materials to read.

If you are absent from the class three times or more in aggregate, you are automatically going to be made ineligible. That is non-negotiable. How actively you contribute to enrich the class discussions always holds key for your future credits. At present the instructor intends to task you with no end-term examination or paper, yet he might have a second thought down the road. At the outset you must write a short essay to tell your instructor what you know of Japan.

As the instructor often times answers calls from Prime Minister and his office, he will sometimes request for rescheduling the class calendar. It is strongly recommended that you never fail to pay continued heed to when and where exactly the class will take place. Once again for the classes on October 16, 23, December 4 and 11, we will be starting as normal at 9:00 but ending at 12:00 without any break. There will be no class held on October 30. You must take the above into your scheduling consideration so that you should make no double-bookings. The content of the class should in no way be made "viral," i.e., known to your connections you have via twitter, facebook, blogging and other SNSs. Failing to comply with this rule could result in your ineligibility.

e-learningを開講しない

No.1 2015/09/25 Introduction (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
The instructor, a tenured professor as well as a non-permanent member of the Prime Minister's advisory board, will introduce who he is in detail to the class, and touch on the interconnections amongst politics, economics, the institutions that sustain them and their past history, for after all the course is designed to be part of SDM anyway.

You must write a short essay by using the subsequent week on the topic: "what I know I know of Japanese political economy and what I know I do not know of them."

No.2 2015/10/02 Stock taking of your knowledge and inetest/Interactive (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
You must electronically submit your paper before the class resumes for its second meeting on 2nd of October. The instructor will pick up two or three papers that have captured his attention more than others, and ask their authors to take the podium and tell about the papers to the audience. This will be an important exercise to stock-take your knowledge in order for the instructor to design what topics he should discuss for the future classes.

No.3 2015/10/09 Where Japan stands economically (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
From this third class onward, the class will be so structured as was described above in the "Objectives and Methods" section.
For this meeting we will look at where Japan stands economically by looking at Jesper Koll's argument. Slides will be distributed among the class members.

No.4 2015/10/16 How Japan's political economy has evolved (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
Your world outlook and the resultant decisions you make hardly go beyond the boundary you develop over time in your upbringings. That holds true as regards the state you are a member of. The instructor introduces his own personal history in order for the class to grasp how Japan has evolved politico-economically since the end of WWII.

No.5 2015/10/16 The same as above (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)


No.6 2015/10/23 What is "developmentalism as a system"? (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
To familiarize the class with Japan's post war development ant the uniqueness thereof we will read the late scholar in political economy Yasusuke Murakami's argument. A volunteer making its summary is needed. The class will also hear a personal account made by our Saudi colleague to learn more about his side of the story for us to put the Middle Eastern situation in perspective.

No.7 2015/10/23 The same as above (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)


No.8 2015/11/06 Why military is about money and vice versa? (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
The class will read Werner Abelshauser, "The Burden of Power: Military Aspects of International Financial Relations During the Long 1950s" to see one of the most classic attempts international political economy could make in combining a multitude of developments that are scarcely viewed combinable. Why Germany has taken the path strikingly apart from that walked by its wartime ally of Japan will also be discussed. What macroeconomic identical equations policy planners take into consideration should also make our discussion topic.

No.9 2015/11/13 Currency as a coercive means? (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
Sadam Hussein had been already lost before he embarked on his fatal struggle against the West, notably the U.S. A coercive means used to corner the Iraqi dictator was something you always have in your pocket. We will read Jonathan Kirshner, "Currency and Coercion in the Twenty-First Century," to further fascinate ourselves with the viewpoints international political economy could give us. As before a voluntary reader or two are on demand.

No.10 2015/12/09 Reflecting Attacks on Paris (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
Note that this meeting takes place on the 9th of December, starting at 8:00 PM. This will be an open discussion on the bloody terror attacks that hit Paris.
What if you were to ponder ways to ever solve the root cause of the international Jihadist terrorism, what could you do?

No.11 2015/11/27 Thoughts and observations about the school and the country (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
You have thus far shown keen interest in participating the discussions. The course has enabled you to see that 1) whenever one speaks of any real-world system one ought to take into account its background, i.e., history as nothing escapes its path dependency and 2) politics and economics are inseparable from each other, which is even more of a case as regards international systems, such as currency regimes. It is now time for your tutor to learn what you have taken away. Using this opportunity speak out whatever has occurred to you regarding the school experiences and your observations of the country. Be critical and a "boat rocker." I would like to see three to five presenters to do just that.

No.12 2015/12/04 What is the developmental path Japan has taken? (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
We have so far read Murakami and familiarized ourselves with his view of "developmentalism as a system." For this three hour session we will be looking back at the historical path Japan has taken. It will once again open your eyes. A new idea of "industrious revolution" among others will be introduced. Two sets of volunteer readers will guide our discussion.

No.13 2015/12/04 The same as above (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)


No.14 2015/12/11 Whither Japan? (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)
For this class, you are assigned to read nothing in advance. Your tutor will walk you through what has driven Japan as regards its pursuit of national interest. For the first part, using 90 minutes, he will touch on a host of topics ranging from diplomacy, national security, and economic constraints to its geostrategy. You know that he is Special Adviser to Shinzo Abe, yet note that he speaks solely in his private capacity. For the second part, using the remainder of our time, you are encouraged to test your hypotheses, whatever may they be, and raise as many questions as time permits, which will conclude our course.

No.15 2015/12/11 The same as above (By Professor (practitioner) Tomohiko TANIGUCHI)

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