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Is Japan Still a Reactive State? 35 Years On

January 5, 2023

Details

Type Lecture
Intended for General public / Enrolled students / International students / Alumni / University students / Academic and Administrative Staff
Date(s) January 20, 2023 14:00 — 15:00
Location Hongo Area Campus
Venue Lecture Hall B, 4th floor, International Academic Research Building (MAP)
Entrance Fee No charge
Registration Method Advance registration required
Please register from the link below.
https://forms.gle/S9mLTemdpuG4c8ke8

Personal information obtained for the event will only be used for correspondence and management purposes and will not be shared with a third party.
Registration Period January 5, 2023 — January 20, 2023
Contact graspp_eventinfo(at)pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp

*Please replace (at) with @.
Thirty-five years ago, Professor Kent Calder, one of the most prominent overseas observers of Japanese politics, argued that Japan was a “reactive state,” which is incapable of policy change without outside pressure. In recent years, however, Japanese foreign policy seems to be increasingly proactive. Has the situation changed sufficiently to revise the theory by now? We will address this question with Professor Calder, who coined the concept of reactive state. Can Japan be a proactive player in world politics, especially in 2023, when Japan hosts the G-7 summit and related meetings?

The GraSPP research seminars are open not only to the faculty and students at GraSPP but also to the interested public.

Co-sponsors: 
Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Keisuke Iida Laboratory, Grants-in Aid for Scientific Research (Scientific Research C)

Speaker:
Kent E. Calder
Director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies,
Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

Prof. Kent E. Calder was the Interim Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Calder, who also directs the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS, previously served as the school’s Interim Dean and Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and International Research Cooperation from 2018 to 2020 and as director of Asia Programs from 2016 to 2018. Prior to SAIS, Calder served as special advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), professor at Princeton University, lecturer on government at Harvard, and as the first executive director of Harvard University’s Program on U.S.-Japan Relations. Calder received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he worked under the direction of Edwin O. Reischauer. A specialist in East Asian political economy, Calder lived and researched in Japan for eleven years and across East Asia for four years.

Moderator:
Keisuke Iida
Dean and Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo

Keisuke Iida is Dean and Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at The University of Tokyo. His area of specialization is International Political Economy. His major publications include Legalization and Japan: The Politics of WTO Dispute Settlement (2006) and Japan’s Security and Economic Dependence on China and the United States (2017). He has published numerous articles in international journals such as International Organization, Public Choice, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Conflict Resolution. His research interests include the politics of trade, the political economy of financial crises, and the interactions between security and economics. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University. He has formerly taught at Princeton University and Aoyama Gakuin University.
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