There is much that the world can learn from the experience of Japan with crisis. In this book, top scholars at the University of Tokyo in Japan provide their insights into crisis from the Japanese perspective.
 
The work begins with two chapters on the psychological and institutional constraints in dealing with crisis written respectively by Shin ARITA and Takashi IIDA. Naturally, the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 figures prominently in two chapters; one by Naofumi NAKAMURA focused on the reaction of local society and business in particular, and one by Toshihiro MATSUMURA on the energy industry in the aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. The wider legal and institutional implications of crisis are explored by Hiroyasu ISHIKAWA in terms of contract law, Tomonobu HAYASHI in regard to the use of “State of Emergency” declarations, and Takeshi FUJITANI on Japan’s ongoing fiscal crisis. Finally, there are two chapters on crisis in and between China and Japan with a study of war crises and the relocation of key facilities by Tomoo MARUKAWA and Asei ITŌ’s research on contemporary public sentiment toward relations between China and Japan.
 
This volume reflects the depth of Japanese experience with crisis and provides valuable guidance for thinking about and planning for crises in a way that goes beyond standard works on “crisis management”.
 
This is an open-access publication so its insights can be shared freely around the world.
 

(Written by James David Babb, Specially Appointed Researcher and IIDA Takashi, Professor, Institute of Social Science / 2024)

Table of Contents

Related Info

Edward Elgar Open Access book collection – Dealing with Crisis Full text (no access fee)
https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollbook-oa/book/9781035300662/9781035300662.xml
 
Contributors include:
Shin Arita, J. Babb, Takeshi Fujitani, Tomonobu Hayashi, Takashi Iida, Asei Itō, Hiroyasu Ishikawa, Tomoo Marukawa, Toshihiro Matsumura, Naofumi Nakamura
 
Social Science of Crisis Thinking, Institute of Social Science University of Tokyo
https://web.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/crisis/en/
 
Critical Acclaim
‘Extrapolating lessons from the diverse Japanese experience with disasters, this timely book investigates what policymakers, institutions and individual actors can do when a crisis, in all its unforeseen and multi-faceted complexity, strikes. Multidisciplinary in scope, it makes an important, wide-ranging and fascinating contribution to global crisis studies and disaster management research.’
– Leon Wolff, Hitotsubashi University, Japan
 
‘An intriguing interdisciplinary collection analysing crises in Japan, whose history has been punctuated by natural and socio-economic disasters. The book uncovers insights into how people think about crisis, the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake impacts, legal and governmental responses, and how modern Japan’s approach to crises has evolved regarding China. Curated from a University of Tokyo project over 2016–2020, the chapters also set a useful backdrop to assess Japan’s COVID-19 pandemic management.’
– Luke Nottage, Sydney Law School, Australia
 

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