Depoliticization and the changing boundaries of governance in Japan

ABSTRACT

Explaining the transformation of the state and the dynamics of democratic governance is a focal topic of scholarship. A key component is depoliticization research, which considers depoliticization to be the key element in the logic of delegation among many polities, and uses it as an analytical tool to examine the nature of ‘anti-politics,’ particularly within liberal democracies. Despite this, it has not been used to explain political change in Japan, an enormous industrial power and liberal democracy. This article redresses the issue by incorporating the country’s international relations into the analysis. By employing a multi-level analysis of depoliticization in Japan, the article builds abridge between both research fields, depoliticization research and international relations theory, and contributes an innovate approach to depoliticization which provides a means to implement a deeper policy analysis and interpretation of the changes in Japanese governance and beyond.

KEYWORDS:

• depoliticization
• Politicization
• Japan
• international relations
• governance
• U.S.
• neoliberalism

Acknowledgments

My gratitude goes to Kyoto Women’s University for the funding necessary to complete this research; to the peer reviewers; to Kweku Ampiah, associate professor at the University of Leeds; to Kazuo Toritani, professor at Kyoto Women’s University; to Justin Aukema, associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University, for their feedback and suggestions.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris G. Pope

Dr. Chris G. Pope is an Assistant Professor at Department of Contemporary Society, Kyoto Women’s University. He specializes on the politics and political economies of the Asia-Pacific and has published on topics relating to China, Japan and the international political economy. Dr Pope has published in English and Japanese, and his most recent research concerns democratic backsliding and anti-politics.