« [SSJ: 10103] YCAPS seminar: Washington’s Approach New Approach to Asia, 8 March | Main | [SSJ: 10105] Lecture on health-caregiver migration to Japan on 5 March 2018 at Waseda University »

February 12, 2018

[SSJ: 10104] 24 February Asia-Pacific Studies Seminar at Osaka U.: Normative power and parliamentarians - the Diet of Japan as a case (Silja Keva)

From: Yoneyuki Sugita
Date: 2018/02/12

Dear Colleagues:

We have the honor to have Silja Keva at Osaka University for a month in February 2018. This is a professional seminar where Silja keva will present her cutting-edge research outcome.
Format:
presentation: 20 minutes
discussion: 40 minutes

Her seminar paper will be available for participants only and they are expected to read the seminar paper before the seminar.
I will deliver her seminar paper as soon as I receive it (one week prior to the seminar).

If you plan to attend the seminar, please let me know in advance. We will prepare snacks for the cultural exchange session.


*****************

Asia-Pacific Studies Seminar at Osaka University

Date: 24 February 2018 (Saturday)

Venue: Large Conference Room, 2nd floor of Graduate School of Language and Culture Building, Toyonaka Campus, Osaka University

http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/access/toyonaka/toyonaka.html (#1)

Session 1:10:00 – 11:00

Silja Keva (University teacher, Centre for East Asian Studies/ University of Turku, Finland / Specially-appointed Associate Professor, Osaka University)

https://utu.academia.edu/SiljaKeva

http://www.dma.jim.osaka-u.ac.jp/view?l=en&u=10009059&a2=0000011&a3=0000213&o=affiliation&sm=affiliation&sl=ja&sp=1

Title: Normative power and parliamentarians - the Diet of Japan as a case

Abstract: Japan has been seen to advocate international normative power in a variety of issues ranging from climate change to human security and regional cooperation strategies. Japan’s initiatives have assumed both pragmatic as well as more value-based approaches. This paper asks, what the role of parliamentarians is in promoting Japan’s normative power. Parliamentarians, while mainly domestic actors, have in the recent years assumed an increasingly outward-looking and international role, also in Japan. Japanese Diet Members’ have a rich history of parliamentary diplomacy mainly towards the East Asian neighbors but more recently also towards a broader range of foreign peers within international parliamentary meetings and institutions. In their action parliamentarians become norm promoters in the international field. In this paper the activities of Japanese parliamentarians are studied within the framework of Asia-Europe parliamentary dialogue during the past twenty years. This paper argues that while parliamentarians are not official diplomatic representatives of their country and do have the freedom to speak their mind, they still tend to advocate norms that are in line with the government’s policy and thus extend Japan’s normative power at interparliamentary level.

Discussants:

Paul Midford (Professor, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/paul.midford

Cultural Exchange over Snack: 11:00-12:00

Approved by ssjmod at 03:18 PM