Dear SSJ-Forum,

Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University Japan
Campus would like to invite you to our evening lecture on Oct 3, 2017.
ICAS lectures are open to public and free of charge unless otherwise
noted. Details for the event are as follows.

-------------------------------
Is Japan susceptible to populism?
Speaker:Gregory W. Noble, Professor, Institute of Social Science, The
University of Tokyo
-------------------------------
Tuesday, Oct 3, 2017, 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Doors open at 7:00 p.m.)

Temple University Japan Campus, Azabu Hall 1F Parliament
(access: http://www.tuj.ac.jp/maps/tokyo.html)

RSVP:icas@tuj.temple.edu
* If you RSVP you are automatically registered. If possible, we ask
you to RSVP but we always welcome participants even you do not RSVP.

OVERVIEW:

Donald Trump, with his contempt for “political correctness” and
determination to limit if not ban Muslim immigrants to the United
States, reject the TPP and pull out of the Paris Accord; the United
Kingdom’s “Brexit” from the European Union; Marine Le Pen’s vigorous
presidential campaign against immigration in France; Geert Wilders in
the Netherlands, Fidesz in Hungary and Duterte in the
Philippines—populist parties and leaders have emerged around the
world, and many have captured national governments. These movements
typically reject existing structures, elites, procedures and norms,
look askance at international cooperation, valorize strong leadership,
and in some cases even violate laws and resort to violence.

Japan, in contrast, appears to be an island of serene—or
stolid—stability amidst all this turmoil, even though Japan faces many
domestic and international challenges, including a declining
population and stagnant economy, the rise of China, and the threat of
nuclear missiles from North Korea. This presentation reviews the rise
of populism elsewhere, gives a brief definition of its component
elements and hypothesized causes, and explores reasons why populism
has failed to gain much traction in Japan, focusing particularly on
high levels of social and economic integration and stability, and the
sluggish pace of social change, including the tiny intake of refugees
and limited openness to migration. Japan has not experienced a
populist backlash against social change, economic vulnerability, or
influxes of foreigners because there has not been much to react
against.

SPEAKER:

Gregory W. Noble is a professor of politics and public administration
in the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo. Among
his publications are Collective Action in East Asia: How Ruling
Parties Shape Industrial Policy; The Asian Financial Crisis and the
Structure of Global Finance (co-edited with John Ravenhill),
“Abenomics in the 2014 Election: Showing the money (supply) and little
else,” “Government-business relations in democratizing Asia,” “The
decline of particularism in Japanese politics,” “The Chinese Auto
Industry as Challenge, Opportunity and Partner.”

-------------------------------
Robert Dujarric, Director
Kyle Cleveland, Associate Director

Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies
Temple University, Japan Campus
www.tuj.ac.jp/icas
www.facebook.com/tuj.icas