We have some exciting events to report that are taking place at the
upcoming APSA meeting. These events are all virtual, but due to APSA’s
policies you will have to be registered for the conference to be able to
attend.
Our business meeting will take place the weekend before
APSA, on Friday, September 24, 4:00-5:00pm PDT (8am-9am, September 25 JST). Our
business meeting will include a roundtable discussion of the politics of
agriculture in Japan, and it will feature short presentations by Patti
Maclachlan, Hironori Sasada, and Hanno Jentzsch (all of whom have recent,
exciting books about agriculture).
We would also like to ask you to check whether your formal
membership with JPSG is up to date. You can check on your status by
1) logging
into your APSA account, 2) going to your profile page (click your name,
which should be highlighted on the top of the page, 3) clicking on the
"Related Groups" link on the right side of the page , and 4) checking
the box for Japan Political Studies Group.
In addition, we were fortunate enough to be able to sponsor two
JSPG-sponsored panels:
First, "A Region of Regimes Prosperity & Plunder
in Asia: Contribution of T.J. Pempel" will take place on Wednesday,
September 29 from 2:00-3:30pm PDT (6am-7:30am, September 30 JST).
Here is a description of that session: In celebration of
T.J. Pempel’s retirement from University of California, Berkeley and the
publication of his newest book, this roundtable discusses Pempel’s recent work
in the context of his lifetime contribution as a scholar and mentor. “A Region
of Regimes” focuses on the successes and challenges among ten East Asia
economies, analyzing the interpenetration of political, socio-economic, and
international forces in three distinct regime types along with their
corresponding economic policy paradigms. It also explores readjustments of
regimes under challenges to regime coherence as well as the ways in which
shifting regime combinations have led to changes in the regional order. This
work is a capstone project in Pempel’s long academic career spanning five
decades during which he has tackled ambitious and thought-provoking questions
including comparative political economy, domestic sources of foreign policy,
the impact of economic crises on political regimes and East Asian regionalism.
Pempel’s contribution to the academy goes beyond his written work. He has been
an invaluable mentor to many both inside and beyond the institutions where he
has been affiliated, and he has been a leader in establishing a creative and
exciting scholarly community in the studies of East Asia’s economy, politics
and external relations. By gathering together experts from the field of East
Asian political economy and his colleagues and former students, this roundtable
analyzes his recent book as a way to honor Pempel’s lifetime contribution.
Second, "Government Structure, Capacity, and
Leadership in Japan" will take place on Friday, October 1 from 6am-7:30am PDT (10:00pm-11:30pm JST). That panel will include papers
by Douglas Miller, Sayaka Kamio, Nobuhiro Hiwatari, and Miwa Nakajo. Here is a
brief overview of this panel: Japanese governance has evolved rapidly in the
postwar period. Economic growth and malaise, demographic change, and
international challenges after the Cold War have exerted pressure to adapt
electoral and legislative strategies. This panel examines changes in
institutional structure, state capacity, and political leadership, leveraging
evidence from Japan.
We hope to virtually see you at all of these events!
Sincerely,
Michael Strausz and Kenneth Mori McElwain
