This article is no longer available for viewing as the posting permission has expired. Society, No.78  Oct. 4, 2023 Interview with Professor Yonekura Ritsu: Japan’s Self-portrait Reflected in “August Journalism” – Asking Ourselves Why Is This Passed On? YONEKURA Ritsu, Professor, Department of Journalism, Nihon University YONEKURA Ritsu Professor, Department of Journalism, Nihon University Born in 1968 in Ehime Prefecture. Member of the Broadcasting Ethics Verification Committee of Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO). Specializes in video journalism and media history. Served as a director of NHK News Bureau and as a senior researcher at NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute before assuming his current position. His publications include ‘Hachigatsu janarizumu’ to Sengo Nihon (‘August Journalism’ and Postwar Japan), co-editor of Shin hosoron (New broadcasting theory) and Rokaru terebi no 60 nen (Sixty Years of Local Television).   Keywords Yonekura Ritsu Department of Journalism Nihon ... ... [Read more]

  Liu Yenfu (Reporter, Analysis Department, Toyo Keizai Inc.) vs Wakabayashi Masahiro (Professor Emeritus, Waseda University) From two time axes Liu Yenfu: For the past few years, there has been a lot of discussion about a Taiwan emergency. While discussions on deterrence against China are progressing in Japan, there is also the view that the situation is not so dire and that “emergency is a fiction.” From the standpoint of having studied Taiwan for a long time, how does Professor Wakabayashi view the current situation?   Wakabayashi Masahiro: I would like to look back on how Taiwan appeared in international political history and how it has been treated from two different timelines. First, there is a long timeline starting from the 17th century. Within this long timeline, there were four times when Taiwan became the focus of war-related events. The first was in the ... ... [Read more]

  Okazaki Tetsuji, Faculty Fellow, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Professor, University of Tokyo   Just before noon on September 1, 1923, a massive, 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Kanto region, which includes Tokyo. According to a survey by the city of Tokyo in 1925, the total number of dead and missing people from the disaster in Tokyo Prefecture and six nearby prefectures stood at about 105,000, including 70,000 in Tokyo Prefecture and 32,000 in Kanagawa Prefecture. There was also massive property damage, amounting to 5.5 billion yen (about 7 trillion yen in 2010 prices). Using the same 2010 prices for comparison, damage totaled about 8 trillion yen for the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 and about 17 trillion yen for the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The Great Kanto Earthquake resulted in less damage than the other two. Compared ... ... [Read more]

  Naraoka Sochi, Professor, Kyoto University   When we look back on the history of Japanese diplomacy since the Meiji period (1868–1912), what kind of consistency is there to find? I shall attempt to consider some of the challenges of today in light of the history of value-oriented diplomacy.   Since the first Abe administration (2006–2007), it has been said that Japan pursues a “value-oriented diplomacy” based on universal values, which includes basic policies like the “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity” and a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” Conversely, more conventional Japanese diplomacy has seldom been seen as having put values at the forefront. But what was the actual situation? I don’t think Japanese diplomacy was as thoroughly realist as people usually imagine. Rather, I think it has been quite consistent in the sense that it has actively accepted and emphasized the values that underpin ... ... [Read more]

  Takeuchi Shinichi, Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Impact of UN General Assembly Resolution About a year and a half has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. Over time, it became clear that this war would deeply affect the international order and prompt its reorganization. It has the character of a proxy war between Russia and the West, which supports Ukraine. Therefore, each country’s stance toward this war naturally implies an evaluation of the international order led by the West. This war also revealed the fact that the current international order was not as supported by the world as Western countries had thought. In response to the invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Russia on March 2, 2022. Of the 193 member states, 141 voted in favor, while nearly 30% of the total abstained (35), did not vote ... ... [Read more]

  President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited Japan for the G7 Hiroshima Summit, associated “post-reconstruction” Ukraine with Hiroshima. As the holder of the G7 presidency and as a country providing reconstruction assistance in Ukraine, what does Japan need to do at this time?   Higashino Atsuko, Professor, University of Tsukuba   “I will never forget the attention you have paid to Ukraine and especially the support you have expressed for the sovereignty of Ukraine, its territorial integrity, and the Ukrainian people.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the G7 Hiroshima Summit in Hiroshima in May this year, thanked Prime Minister Kishida Fumio with these words. The world’s eyes focused on this president of a country currently under invasion from Russia as he arrived in faraway Hiroshima. Various reports from after the summit suggest that the Japanese government was initially hesitant to have President Zelenskyy ... ... [Read more]

  Key points High risk of legal instability and unpredictability Economic coercion negating the advantages of free trade Making rules to correct adverse effects of system differences   WATANABE Mariko, Professor, Gakushuin University   At the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May, there was a directional shift from “decoupling” to “de-risking” in relations with China. The term “de-risking” was proposed by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU, but similar views were expressed in statements by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. In a speech in April, Yellen presented three principles of economic China policy: (1) first of all, securing the national security interests of the United States, allies, and partners as well as protecting human rights, (2) otherwise, fair and healthy economic competition with China, and (3) cooperation on global challenges. Sullivan said that “Export controls ... ... [Read more]