Dear friends and colleagues,

With apologies for multiple postings across forums, I am writing to invite
you to the next meeting of the PhD Kenkyuukai, hosted by the Institute of
Social Science, University of Tokyo, from 12:15-1:45pm on February 21st
(Thu).

The presenter will be *Susanne Auerbach*, a PhD candidate in Japanese
Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

*Speaker*: Susanne Auerbach
*Title*: "The 2018 Fisheries Reform: The influences of international
standards on domestic policies"
*Time*: Feb 21 (FRI), 12:15-1:45pm
*Location*: Rm. 108, ISS / Shaken Main Building
http://www.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/guide/index.html

*ABSTRACT*
Coastal fisheries in Japan have been in decline since the early 1990s.
Situated mostly in rural areas, fishing communities suffer from
depopulation and ageing. Stagnating production levels, decreasing demand
and rising imports have led to income insecurities, further deterring young
people to enter the industry. Policymakers and fishermen alike have been
struggling to find solutions for this complex mix of challenges.

The dissertation project analyses how the fishery policy has changed since
2001, when the Fisheries Basic Act (FBA) was implemented, with a focus on
the 2018 reform. While revitalisation of coastal fisheries and fisheries
communities was the main policy objective under the FBA, the 2018 reform
comprised a substantial overhaul of the resource management system,
including fishery rights and stipulated that a combination of Total
Allowable Catch and Individual Quota be the only basis for management
decisions in the future. This reform has met with critique by coastal
fishermen and some fishery experts, who fear that small-scale fishermen
will be pushed out by capital-based private enterprises. While current
research is particularly interested in possible outcomes of the reform, I
am interested in where the policy ideas manifested in the reform came from.
Why choose that particular resource management model, often referred to as
the "Norwegian Model"? Why put more emphasis on hard economic factors like
income levels and productivity?

**** Logistical Notes*
We are soliciting new presenters for May 2020 onwards. We welcome
presentations at *all levels of research progress*, including prospectuses,
field work analysis, and close-to-final papers. Our goal is to provide
constructive feedback that is useful for up-and-coming scholars in the
social sciences and humanities, so please do not hesitate to contact us to
discuss possible presentation topics and dates.
Please contact us at mcelwain@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp and noble@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp