The Japan Society Review
Book, Stage, Movie, Arts and Events Review

Editor: Sean Curtin
Managing Editor: John Toppon
Production Assistant: Abbie Martin...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)

In this issue we focus on contemporary Japanese themes withreviews examining the current state of gender equality, politics,
social issues, foreign policy and modern architecture. We also havea retrospective report on the exhibition of prehistoric Japaneseminiature clay figurines held at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
in Norwich during the summer of 2010. Our first review explores

Contents(1) The New Paradox for Japanese Women: Greater Choice,Greater Inequality(2) Koizumi and Japanese politics: Reform Strategies andLeadership Style(3) Rapid Changes in DIplomacy (外交激変)(4) Living Japan, Essays on Everyday Life in Contemporary Society(5) Unearthed Exhibition(6) New Architecture in JapanThe New Paradox for Japanese Women: Greater Choice, Greater
Inequality, a thought provoking book analyzing the social inequality ...................................................................................................
experienced by women in today’s Japan. The position of Japanesewomen is compared with that of men, producing a not especially
positive set of results. Despite the 1985 Equal Employment
Opportunity Law women still significantly lag behind men in all
major areas, especially political representation, while working
women still do most domestic chores and child care. Next we delve
into an impressive study, Koizumi and Japanese Politics: Reform
Strategies and Leadership Style, which meticulously dissects thehighly successful administration of Junichiro Koizumi (April 2001 to
September 2006). Since his departure, no Japanese prime minister
has lasted longer than a year. Why was Koizumi able to deliver
strong leadership and make significant reforms? Koizumi’s policies,
institutional reforms and flamboyant political style are all scrutinized
in depth. Fumiko Halloran looks at Rapid Changes in Diplomacy(外交激変), a Japanese language book looking at the dynamics offoreign policy from ministry insider Shunji Yanai’s perspective. He is
a former Ambassador to the United States who during his 41 yearlong career found himself at the centre of many key diplomatic
moments including (to name a few) the negotiations on the returnof Okinawa, the first Gulf War, Japan’s participation in the United
Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO), Tokyo’s failure to attain apermanent seat on the UN Security Council and the Iraqi invasion. Sir
Hugh Cortazzi gives his verdict on Living Japan, Essays on Everyday
Life in Contemporary Society, a work comprising seventy shortessays which explore various aspects of the everyday life of ordinary
Japanese people. Its vivid firsthand accounts from a Japanese
viewpoint provide some fascinating insights into Japan and its
people. Susan Meehan shares her thoughts on the highly popular‘Unearthed’ exhibition which was held at the Sainsbury Centre
for Visual Arts in Norwich during summer 2010. At its heart was acollection of over 100 prehistoric miniature clay figurines including
many hailing from Japan called ‘dogū’ (土偶) meaning clay spirits,
which were mainly from the Jōmon (縄文時代) era (about14,000
to 300BC). Our final review, New Architecture in Japan, takes usback to the present day. This work is an introductory survey of newarchitecture in Japan featuring buildings by well known Japanesearchitects such as Tadao Ando as well as projects by new young
architects and by international practices. Using some excellent
photography, it looks at new architectural ideas and themes inJapan covering a wide variety of public and private buildings

The New Paradox for Japanese
Women: Greater Choice,Greater Inequality
Toshiaki Tachibanaki(橘木 俊詔)translated by Mary E. Foster

House Press, Tokyo, 2010, 290 pages
including index, references andtablesISBN 978-4-903452-18-0
Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi“Japan suffers today from a high inequality in income
distribution and a lack of equal opportunity. Simply put,
Japan is a class society.” These are the thought-provoking firstwords of this sociological study by Professor Tachibanaki ofDoshisha University in Kyoto. He has studied widely both inNorth America and Europe and is a recognized authority on
economic issues.
Professor Tachibanaki points out that “Japan has long been
considered a society where all people are middle class” but“Japan has become a society of increasing social inequality.
This is evidenced by the widening gap between rich and poorand the development of rigid social classes.”

The main theme of this book is the increasing social
inequality among women in Japan. But especially in his firstchapter entitled “The Gender Gap,” he also compares the
position of Japanese women with that of Japanese men.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Law was introduced in1985 “to ban discrimination against women and has beenstrengthened since.” However, as Professor Tachibanaki
notes, in Japan “laws may be strict, but the actual observanceand enforcement is lax (page 26).” There are few Japanesewomen in managerial posts and fewer women than men
Sean Curtin....................................................................................................
go on to higher education. Moreover Japanese women
New reviews
who do go on to university tend to take shorter courses
www.japansociety.org.uk/resources/the-japan-society-review
and generally study humanities and arts subjects. In thisArchivecontext he affirms that “there is no basis for the belief that
http://www.japansociety.org.uk/reviews_archive.html
boys are innately better at mathematics and science than
We are grateful to our regular reviewers:
girls (page 74).” He notes on page 83 that “Discrimination
Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Mikihiro Maeda
against women is an indisputable fact of life in many areas
William Farr
Susan Meehan
of Japanese society.”
He declares (page 85) that
Fumiko Halloran
Ian Nish“Discrimination against women exists in hiring andAdam House
Ben-Ami Shillony....................................................................................................

promotion in every field” but it is particularly severe when it
comes to appointing top executives at major corporations.
The proportion of Japanese women of all ages in full time
employment never reaches more than 75% whereas therate for men “hovers around 95%.” The vast majority ofprofessional/technical workers and manager/officials inJapan are men although the number of women in such
posts has been increasing. It is noteworthy that womenmake up 70-80% of temporary workers in Japan who
receive inferior treatment to that accorded to permanent
staff.
In Japanese homes most house-work and child care work
is performed by women. Professor Tachibanaki does notcomment directly on the existence of male chauvinist
attitudes in Japan, but the facts which he adduces seem toconfirm that this is a not insignificant factor. In Chapter Two
which discusses “Women and Social Class” he introduces atable (page 48) which states that among all married couples
85% are male dominated. The percentage is lower in two
income families but 74% of such households are still maledominated.
Chapter four on marriage and divorce contains a section on“What are the Japanese looking for in marriage? (page 98 etseq).” Commenting on the economic aspects he stresses
the importance of income, educational background andoccupation. He notes that the great disparities “between
the rich and poor in Japan today have contributed to many
young people lacking the funds to get married (page 114).”
He records that while 67.7% of married women in theirforties condone pre-marital sex the percentage of womenin their twenties who approve rises to 87.6% (page 124).
Japan’s low net reproduction rate in an aging society is amatter of concern. To tackle this phenomenon Professor
Tachibanaki gives first place to discouraging abortions(page 163) followed by encouraging out-of-wedlock births.
In Britain the emphasis is rather on making better provision
for childcare and reducing child poverty.
Professor Tachibanaki notes that in Japan as compared withother industrialised countries “a lower proportion of highly
educated Japanese women are working (page 189).” Onereason for this is that such women trying to return to work
after child birth “are unlikely to find a desirable job.”
However the top posts in government ministries andmajor corporations are no longer monopolised by
graduates from the most prestigious universities in Japanand it is becoming recognized that academic credentials
do not necessarily confirm an individual’s practical andmanagerial skills. Major changes are also taking placein Japanese education with more co-education in highschools and universities and some women’s universities
are now admitting men.
Professor Tachibanaki in his conclusion notes that in Japan“the choices a woman makes will have a major impact on
her status and life style” and declares that “Japan faces theurgent task of giving its women equal opportunity andcorrecting inequalities of result that are not justified.” With2

an aging and declining population Japan needs more thanever before to make better use of her women.
The importance of the topics discussed in this book is
underlined by the fact that Japan Spotlight for May/June2010 carried a number of articles on related themes under
the general headline “Gender Equality Spurs Economic
Growth.”This is a valuable analysis of the problems facing women in
Japan today and should be widely read by anyone interested
in the future of Japan and its society. I-House press are to becommended for making this important study available to
English readers.
This book was originally published in Japanese as 女女格
差 (Jojo kakusa), Toyo Keizai, 2008, 344 pages, ISBN-13: 9784492222836, ¥3,000

Koizumi and Japanese
Politics: Reform Strategies
and Leadership Style
By Yu Uchiyama (内山 融)
Translated by Carl Freire
Routledge, 2010214 pages
Hardback, £75.00
ISBN: 978-0-415-55688-0
Review by Sean Curtin
In this impressive study Yu Uchiyama meticulously dissects
the highly successful and by Japanese standards long
lived administration of Junichiro Koizumi (26 April 2001
– 26 September 2006). Since stepping down from office, noJapanese prime minister has lasted longer than a year andnone in the last two decades had such a reverberating impact
on the Japanese political scene. How did Koizumi break the
mould? Why was he able to deliver strong leadership andmake significant reforms? Uchiyama, an associate professor
at Tokyo University, uses a range of empirical and theoreticalmethods to clinically analyze and assess both Koizumi’s
domestic and foreign policies. He looks in depth at thepolicy-making processes, how Koizumi created a new modus
operandi and the institutional forums which were establishedto accomplish his objectives. Koizumi’s flamboyant politicalstyle is also scrutinized and his premiership’s accomplishments
are put in historical context.
In chapter 1, “Koizumi’s Management of Politics,” Uchiyama
defines the key features of Koizumi’s colourful political styleas Prime Minister, he notes, “He attached greater importanceto making his appeals directly to the general public andwinning their support than to building up his power basewithin the LDP (page 6).” While others have attempted thistactic, with the notable exception of Morihiro Hosokawa(August 1993 to April 1994), none have come close to
Koizumi’s success. Throughout the book Uchiyama makesa series of comparisons with the charismatic and telegenic
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)

Hosokawa, who in many respects was a prototype Koizumi.
Unlike previous LDP leaders, Koizumi tended to ignore thepowerful factions within his own party, instead seeking
authority by appealing to the public. On this tactic, theauthor observes, “He was able to gain the upper hand overthe party’s ‘forces of resistance’ by casting his approach as a
struggle between good and evil and winning the public overto his side (page 16).” Fortunately for Koizumi the authorityof the prime minister had been strengthened by reforms
carried out by the Hashimoto administration (1996-8) andthis combined with his generally high approval ratings gave
Koizumi considerable clout. Utilizing the double barrels ofenhanced prime-ministerial power and his huge personal
popularity, Koizumi was able to direct policy like none of his
predecessors or subsequent successors. This twin-edged
blade allowed him to cut through the moribund bureaucracy
and establish his own forums to create or reshape policy. One
such key body was the pivotal Council on Economic andFiscal Policy (経済財政諮問会議).
Uchiyama also identifies another core feature of the Koizumi
phenomenon, “he would not flinch. Once he had committed
to a specific principle or idea he would not budge (page22).” While in the domestic realm this key trait was generally
a good quality, in the realm of foreign affairs it was toprove disastrous. Analysing Koizumi’s manner and speech,
Uchiyama concludes (page 11) that Koizumi “stressed pathos(emotion, sentiment) over logos (rationality, well-defined
language).” This is a theme he follows throughout the book,labelling him the “prime minister of pathos.”On his accomplishments he write, “Koizumi achieved greater
policy transformations than any prime minister before him
thanks to his effective use of populist techniques and a stringof reforms to the political system and government structurethat preceded his term in office (page 9).” Despite this highpraise and clinical style throughout the book, one gets thedistinct impression that the Uchiyama feels a certain degreeof academic disdain for Koizumi’s crude methods and in
the afterword (page 165) he admits as much, confessing, “I
certainly cannot brush off my discomfort over his conduct ofpolitics.”
Chapter 2, “Domestic Affairs – The battle over neoliberal
reform” is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of
how Koizumi reshaped the domestic policy making
process, substantially reduced the influence of special
interest lawmakers (族議員) and bureaucrats, and greatly
strengthened the power of the prime minister. The bookprovides a highly detailed blueprint of how Koizumi
managed to reform the domestic political agenda from theentrenched web of tangled vested interests that existed
when he came to office. This chapter covers a huge tractof domestic policy ranging from the functioning of theCouncil on Economic and Fiscal Policy to the more complex
Trinity Reform (三位一体の改革). This section contains somesuperb reference material, illuminating charts and easyto-understand tables which explain the various reforms inchronological order.
Heizo Takenaka (竹中 平蔵), who served as Koizumi’s Minister
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)of Internal Affairs and Communications as well as Minister ofState for Privatization of the Postal Services, is singled out as
the key figure behind Koizumi’s domestic agenda. This soft
spoken academic was the driving intellectual force behindmost of Koizumi’s ideas, Uchiyama states, “Takenaka involved
himself directly and at length in detail work like the actualdrafting of bills in the case of important policies such as postal
privatization. Although this was unusual for a cabinet minister,
he was able in this manner to prevent the ‘watering down’of bills by the bureaucracy (page 77).” The author believes
that successor administrations failed because they lacked avisionary Takenaka-type figure.
Chapter 2 also contains the ultimate piece of high wire
“Koizumi theatre” (小泉劇場), the so called postal electionin which Koizumi defied political gravity to win a landslide
general election victory. After members of his own party
voted down his flagship postal privatization bill in the Upper
House, Koizumi dissolved the Lower House calling a snap
general election. He expelled those lawmakers in his own
party who voted against the law when it narrowly passedin the lower chamber and put up rival candidates in theirconstituencies. Normally when such a division occurs in apolitical party, the result is almost certain electoral defeat asa split party fighting itself normally divides its vote. However,despite dire predictions from commentators, Koizumi
beat the odds, proving that he understood the mood of
the Japanese public better than any political pundit. After
achieving such a stunning victory his political authority wassupreme, even though he pledged to step down within ayear of re-election, during his final 12 months he was no lame
duck (also see page 134). Uchiyama clinically analyzes these
momentous events, which in some respects are difficult toappreciate without the intense drama element of the time.
While the second chapter highlights some of Koizumi’s
greatest achievements, the next chapter, “Foreign Relations:
Closer to America, Farther from East Asia” charts some of itslows. Uchiyama notes, “In sharp contrast to his strategicallypursued economic policies, the strategic coherence of his
foreign policy must be described as relatively poor (page 79).”
While ties with the US substantially improved, relations with
China and South Korea hit rock bottom and foreign policy
was at times highly erratic. One of the first major traumasof the Koizumi administration was the chaos caused by thesacking of the colourful Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka.
She had been instrumental in getting Koizumi elected Party
President, or as Uchiyama puts it (page 83), “The Koizumi
administration took a hit for the dismissal of its ‘birth mother.’”
Koizumi controversially supported the US invasion of Iraq
and sent troops to help with postwar reconstruction, theauthor comments (page 92), “Bush was extremely gratefulfor Koizumi’s pro-US attitude, and the affectionate relations
between the two rose to a new level.” Contrastingly, ties
with Tokyo’s East Asian neighbours rapidly deteriorated
during his tenure in office. His annual forays to the wartainted Yasukuni Shrine generated enormous regionalanimosity, demonstrations and several riots. In the final yearof his administration Koizumi became a Pariah with Chineseand Korean leaders refusing to meet him. His six annual3visits to the controversial shrine along with the escalating
tension and fallout they caused are carefully documented
by Uchiyama who concludes, “Koizumi’s pilgrimages to
Yasukuni shrine cast a large shadow on relations with
China and South Korea (page 116).” One of the first actsof Koizumi’s successor, Shinzo Abe, was to visit Beijing
and Seoul to defuse tensions, all five post-Koizumi PMs
have sought to improve ties and none has dared visit thecontentious shrine. Other aspects of Koizumi foreign policy

The charismatic and telegenic PM Morihiro
Hosokawa

are examined including various territorial disputes, relations
with North Korea, and Free Trade Agreements, inter alia.
Takeshi is generally positive towards Aso, describing him
as a man who “announces his own ideas in simple words
to Japanese citizens” (page 50), ironically a quality he wascriticized for when prime minister. The AFP initiative stressed
the importance of “value-oriented diplomacy.”
Chapter 4, “The Koizumi Administration in Historical andTheoretical Perspective” has some great analysis of postwar
administrations and how the political system Koizumi
encountered upon taking office had evolved. The role andpower of the prime minister is also examined along withchanges in the electoral system which enhanced the PM’s
statue. The Hosokawa (1993-4) and Hashimoto (1996-8)
administrations are both seen in some respects as reformist
neoliberal forerunners of Koizumi, but both had limited impact
due to their short tenures. Hashimoto is given credit for his
administrative reforms which enhanced the power of the PM
while the long term impact of the electoral changes initiatedunder Hosokawa are assessed. Koizumi successfully tapped
into the Japanese public’s deep hunger for change, “Koizumi
flew the banner of neoliberal reform and proclaimed that hewould tear down the existing political structure (page 125).”
His outsider status, popularist style, telegenic persona, pokerplayer political tactics combined with the enhanced power of
his office allowed him to outflank his enemies and maintainhigh approval rating which sustained his administration.
Uchiyama summarizes, “Koizumi had two sources of authority
to draw upon, one being such institutional resources as thelegal authority invested in his office and the other being his
personal qualities (page 136).”
In the final chapter, “Legacies of the Koizumi Administration,”
Uchiyama assessed Koizumi’s lasting impact on Japanesepolitics, noting “he overturned the established image of theJapanese prime minister” and “replaced a policy-making
system that had been bogged down by vested interests with4

top-down decision-making (page 137).” He also highlights
his significant achievements, “Koizumi accomplished policychanges that far exceeded anything thought possible untilthen” and “the Koizumi administration pursued policies thatfavoured the interests of the average citizen over sectional
interests (page 138).” The negative aspects are also examined,
Uchiyama sees the two most serious failings as increasedsocial inequality and strained ties with Tokyo’s neighbours.
Uchiyama’s original 2007 Japanese language book on
Koizumi (小泉政権 ―「パトスの首相」
は何を変えたのか)
ended here, but this English language version has beenslightly revised and expanded with an additional chapter
added, “Postscript: The Koizumi and Abe Administrations,”
looking at the successor administration of Shinzo Abe. After
five ‘thrilling’ years of Koizumi the public wanted another‘popular’ and ‘strong’ leader which was a key factor in theselection of the relatively youthful Abe as Prime Minister.
However, Koizumi was an exceptionally hard act to follow andliving up to the public’s expectations proved impossible for the
hapless Abe. He lacked Koizumi’s style and charisma, so once
his poll ratings began to slip the knives were out. Despite his
attempts to cling on after a disastrous Upper House election
defeat in July 2007, he was force to resign after just a year in
office. Uchiyama’s verdict (page 157), “Abe could not fill the
shoes of a ‘strong prime minister.’” The author concludes thebook by observing, “The Koizumi administration constituted
an epochal break in postwar political history, and its influence
lingers strongly even today (page 164).”
Abe’s successor, Yasuo Fukuda, was the antithesis of theKoizumi approach, signalling the LDP wanted to end the
Koizumi experiment. However, the Fukuda administration
only chalked up a year as did that of following prime minister
Taro Aso. He was defeated in a general election by Yukio
Hatoyama, who could only manage eight months at thehelm, while his replacement Prime Minister Naoto Kan was
lucky to survive a serious challenge to his leadership after justthree months in office. All of this has made Koizumi’s five years
and five months seem like an eternity and the analysis in thissuperb book helps explain how he achieved such longevity.
Before ending this review, the excellent translation work ofCarl Freire must be commended, he has done a first-ratetranslation and made this important publication accessible
to a far greater global audience. He has also packed the bookfull of extremely useful Japanese language political terms,
making it a handy reference source on this important period
in politics. The book is a must-read for anyone interested inJapanese politics and in understanding the extraordinary
Koizumi years.
Other related Japan Society Review articles“Koizumi no Shori, Media no Haiboku” (Victory for Koizumi, Defeat for theMedia), by Takashi Uesugi, Japan Society Review Issue 11“Koizumi Kantei Hiroku” (Confidential Records of the Office of Prime
Minister Koizumi), by Isao Iijima, Japan Society Review Issue 12“Kozo Kaikaku No Shinjitsu: Takenaka Heizo Daijin Nisshi” (Truth of
Structural Reforms: Diary of Minister Takenaka Heizo), by Heizo Takenaka,
Japan Society Review Issue 12
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)

Rapid Changes in
Diplomacy (外交激変)
by Shunji Yanai(柳井俊二)
interviewed by
Makoto Iokibe, Motoshige
Ito and Katsuyuki Yakushiji
Asahi Shimbun-sha, 2007,
278 pages, 1700 yen
ISBN-13: 978-4022502650
Review by Fumiko Halloran
As a senior official in the Japanese government Mr. Shunji
Yanai is a rare breed. He is candid, does not mince his words,
is bold and sometimes controversial, and somehow getsaway with things that would most likely cost someone else
his career. Despite his traits, he rose through the ranks of theForeign Ministry (1961–2002) as the Director General of theTreaty Bureau (1978–1981), Consul General in San Francisco(1987–1990), Director General of the Comprehensive
Foreign Policy Bureau (1993–1995), Deputy Minister for
Foreign Affairs (1995–1997), and Ambassador to the UnitedStates between 1999 and 2002. Retiring in 2002, Mr. Yanai
then took up a post as a professor of law at Chuo University
in Tokyo (2002–2007) and is currently a Professor at Waseda
University in Tokyo.
Born in 1937 in Tokyo into a diplomatic family, Yanai spent hischildhood in pre-war Germany, Switzerland, and Colombia,
where his family was held with other Japanese as prisoners of
war after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. In
exchange for Americans held in Japan, the Yanai family sailed
from Colombia through the Panama Canal to New Orleans.
They travelled on trains in the U.S. to New Jersey where theyboarded a Swedish ship. To avoid the war zone in the Pacific,
the ship sailed across the Atlantic to South Africa and dockedin Maputo in Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony, where
American Ambassador Joseph Grew and other Americans
had arrived for an exchange. The Yanai family and otherJapanese sailed across the Indian Ocean to Singapore andfinally to Yokohama.
The trip took four months, which made a deep impression on
the five year old boy. Comparing the wealth and advanced
technology embedded in the daily life of the United Stateseven in wartime to the food rationing and charcoal driven
cars in Japan, Yanai says that, as a boy, he knew Japan would
lose the war, although his father told him not to utter suchcomments. Yanai’s father, once director general of the same
Treaty Bureau his son would also head, quit the ministry after
the war to practice law, and was a defence lawyer for foreign
minister Mamoru Shigemitsu at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials.
Young Yanai decided to become a diplomat after he returnedto Tokyo from Karuizawa, where he spent the war years. He
had witnessed the devastating ruins of Tokyo inflicted byAmerican bombing and thought Japan had to be skilled in
diplomacy, not repeating the mistakes that led to the war.
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)

During his long career, he was to find himself at the centre ofmany key diplomatic moments including the negotiations
with the American government on the return of Okinawa, thefirst Gulf War and its repercussions on Tokyo, the domestic
political turmoil generated by Japan’s participation in United
Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO), the reorganizationof the ministry to establish a foreign policy bureau that cut
across regional turf, Japan’s failure to attain a permanent
seat on the U.N. Security Council, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in
New York, and Prime Minister Koizumi’s controversial styleof diplomacy.
Yanai reveals that since 1958, when UN Secretary General
Dag Hammarskjold established a UN observation post in
Lebanon after civil war broke out, the foreign ministry had
been considering the possibility of dispatching the Self
Defence Forces (SDF) to troubled spots; but the debate was an
academic one considering the constitutional constraints of the
war renouncing Article Nine combined with a strong anti-war
sentiment in Japan. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in the summerof 1990, Yanai had just been appointed director general of theTreaty Bureau and was in charge of drafting a new law, the UN
Peace Mission Cooperation Law (国連平和協力法案). Within
two months, the new law was presented to the Diet, andgenerated heated opposition. In the end, the law was allowed
to die without a vote in the House of Representatives.
An alternative agreement, later to be voted on, supportedby the governing Liberal Democratic Party, the Komeito(party) and the Democratic Socialist Party, kept alive the ideaof assisting the UN by establishing a separate organization tojoin UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) for humanitarian aid
and rescue missions. However, later on the idea of a separateorganization was abandoned and the use of SDF was reevaluated which led to another attempt at legislation. Finally,
with the passing of the PKO Cooperation Law (PKO 協力法),
the SDF was able to assist in potentially dangerous arenas forthe first time in its history and consequently a convoy of mine
sweepers was dispatched to the Persian Gulf.
In 1992 the Japanese government dispatched 600 SDF and
75 police officers to Cambodia as the war torn nation went
through a peace process and general elections. In 1993, one
police officer was killed in an ambush and four wounded.
Another Japanese, a civilian observer with the UN staff, wasshot to death. Nevertheless, the Japanese government kept
its nerve and did not withdraw the SDF or the police.
Yanai says among those opposing the first attempt at PKO
legislation, the Cabinet Judicial Bureau was most adamant in
opposing the bill. They insisted on a strict interpretation of Article
Nine in the Constitution. Although realizing this law would not
be approved, Yanai nevertheless vigorously defended it in the
National Diet, believing that the next go at drafting a PKO law
would be based on the precedent of the one that had failed.
Ten years later, after the 9/11 attacks, the Diet speedily passed
the Special Legislation on Counter Terrorism Law (テロ対策特別措置法) based on the original UN Peace Mission Cooperation
Law. The counter terrorism law allowed the Maritime Self
Defence Force to help refuel vessels in the Indian Ocean to5

support the international coalition war in Afghanistan. In 2003,
another law, the Iraq Mission Law (イラク特別措置法), waspassed in the Diet, allowing the Ground Self Defence Forces(GSDF) to be engaged in non-combatant operations in Iraq.
As a result more than 5,000 GSDF personnel participated in a
successful reconstruction mission in Iraq with an additional 500
GSDF support staff and 3,200 Air Self Defence Forces providing
backup. This was the first time since WWII that Japanese forces
had served in an active combat zone.

Living Japan, Essays
on Everyday Life inContemporary Society

Yanai cites the Gulf War in 1990 as a pivotal turning point inJapanese public opinion, which shifted away from a rejectionof anything to do with military force to a more active support for
an increasing global Japanese presence, including the dispatchof the SDF to troubled areas. He says that during the Cold War,the environment for diplomacy was predictable becauseof the Article Nine constraints, although tension was highbetween the United States and the Soviet Union. Therefore
Japan did not have to face up to international crises until theCold War ended. After the Gulf War began, the Japanesepublic confused when pressed to take action. Despite raising$13 billion for war expenditures, international opinion towards
Japan was less than favourable which the public saw as a formof “Japan bashing.” The ultimate insult was that despite Tokyo’s
massive monetary contribution Kuwait did not even botherto thank Japan, something the public found humiliating. Thatexperience changed public opinion about PKO, Yanai thinks.

Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

Yanai has a phenomenal memory for details of legal
interpretation and political negotiations that affected U.S.Japan security arrangements, Japan’s gradual involvement
in international conflicts, and the debate within the foreign
ministry that was sometimes divisive, particularly on therole of the SDF. Yanai admits that there was perhaps agenerational gap among foreign ministry officials about theunderstanding of Article Nine of the Constitution. While thewartime generation adamantly opposed the use of the SDF
for any conflict, Yanai’s own thinking was that the spirit of
Article Nine was to prohibit the use of military force as a meansof invading other countries. Therefore, Japan’s participationin the UN decisions on collective security was not against thespirit of Article Nine. Since UN-led peacekeeping operation
would most certainly use the military forces of member
countries, Japan should likewise use the SDF for UN PKO.
This book is an excellent primary source for those who study
the history of Japan’s diplomacy in the post-war period. It forms
part of a series of interviews with Japanese who shaped Japan’s
postwar direction; the first interview in the series was with Ichiro
Ozawa, the second with former PM Kiichi Miyazawa, and Yanai
is the third. All the interviews were originally published in themonthly magazine “Ronza.” The interviewers were: Makoto
Iokibe, president of National Defense University; Motoshige Ito,professor of economics at Tokyo University; Katsuyuki Yakushiji,managing editor of Ronza and visiting professor at Kyoto
University.

Notes
This book’s full Japanese title is 外交激変 元外務省事務次官柳井俊二 - 90年代の証言
6

Edited by Harumi Kimura
Global Oriental, 2009, 251 pages
including index, £55.00
ISBN 978-1-905246-86-1

The seventy short essays in this book deal with aspects of theeveryday life of ordinary Japanese people. Even those of us
who have lived in Japan for a few years will find in this booksome descriptions and accounts of events which will help us
to understand the reactions of ordinary Japanese people. Theyshow us that while Japanese culture and ways of life differ inmany ways from our own, Japanese have much the same
human feelings as we have.
The essays were not written specially for this book but were
produced over a number of years by Japanese whose ages
range from their forties to their eighties. All the essayists
have “taught how to write essays as lecturers at lifelong
education classes or have written essays for various media.”
In selecting the essays to include the editor tried “to introduce
as many examples of Japanese traditional culture, events,
life-experiences and human relationships as possible.” All theessays were originally written in Japanese.
The book is divided into eight parts. The titles of the sections are:
“At the Foot of Mount Fuji,” “New Year’s Cards,” “Please Answer
in Japanese,” “Call me Mummy,” “As if I were in Paradise,” “ThoseDays in Britain,” “From the Kitchen Window,” and “Living Alone
Rehearsal.” These titles do no more than hint at the contents.
The titles of many of the essays give more of the flavour e.g. “TheMountains are Living,” “Seasonal Change of Clothing,” “What is
Taught in Japanese Language Lessons,” “What I Regret about
Bringing up my Children,” “At an Antique Market,” “Cleaning
Leaf Vegetables,” “The Sherlock Holmes Club,” “Blue Daisies asa Mother’s Day Present,” “My Husband is Cooking.”
The essay “Please Answer in Japanese” by Akiko Ohno deals
with the irritation caused by responses such as “I don’t speak
English” when we attempt to address an unknown Japanesein passable Japanese. “The simplest reason” she writes, “isprobably because the Japanese wants to speak English withsomeone from overseas.” “Another most likely reason is thatJapanese people have a perceived notion that it is impossible
for foreigners to speak Japanese well.” She notes that in thisrespect the Japanese are not unique. “The Dutch are also
convinced that foreigners cannot speak their language.” Even
we Brits who admit that we are not good at foreign languages
know that these prejudices are unjustified.
This is a book about Japan which does not need to be read fromcover to cover, but which contains illuminating thoughts andcomments. It would be a good bed-side book to be dipped
into from time to time when we are puzzled by Japanese
attitudes.
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)

As Dr Simon Kaner, Deputy Director of the Sainsbury
Unearthedat the Sainsbury Centre Institute for the Studies of Japanese Arts and Cultures(SISJAC) and co-curator of the exhibition explained to afor Visual Arts
University of East Anglia,
Norwich, 22 June to 29
August 2010
Review by Susan Meehan
The ‘unearthed’ exhibition, held at the Sainsbury Centre
for Visual Arts in Norwich during the summer of 2010,
elicited far more questions than it answered, making
for an extraordinarily thought-provoking and rewarding
experience. At its heart was a collection of over 100
prehistoric miniature clay figurines hailing from Japan
as well as Albania, Macedonia and Romania permitting
the visitor to uncover their similarities and ponder. The
Japanese figurines dating from the Jōmon (縄文時代) era(about14,000 to 300BC) are called ‘dogū’ (土偶) or clay
spirits.
The deftly curated exhibition provided a rare encounter
with these forms, most of which were broken and someof which are 5,000 years old, from Japan and the Balkans,whose people were making some of the earliest andmost beguiling clay figures in the world.
What urge prompted people in these two unconnected
regions to begin making human forms from clay
thousands of years ago – between 16,000 and 2,000
years ago in the case of the Japanese Jōmon figurinesand between 8,500 and 4,500 years ago in the case of
the Balkan figurines? What was the function of these tiny
figures, averaging 4-5cm in height? Were they meant as
toys, portraits, objects to guarantee fertility or successful
harvests? The truth is, as the exhibition shows, that noone can be sure.
The faces of these figurines come in a variety of shapes:
heart-shaped, round, long and flint-shaped to namea few and some are more rustic than others. Some of
the figurines are voluptuous, while others are ornate,featureless, goggle-eyed, open-mouthed or apelike.
They are reminiscent of Anthony Gormley’s terracotta
figures which formed part of his ‘Field for the British Isles’
exhibition in 1993 in which 40,000 8-26cm high terra
cotta figures were specially made.

group of Japanese archaeologists visiting the exhibitionon the same day as I did, the idea is to encourage further
research and debate. The exhibition’s extensive text
explanations and quotes from individuals as diverse
as a philosopher, author and anthropologist, were an
excellent complement and a pleasure to read.

Dr Kaner wondered why the figurines in both the Balkan
and Japanese cultures are not all exactly human but still
have eyes and mouths to suggest a human form andwhy such an abundance of feet fragments (these are all
displayed in one case)?
The similarities between the Balkan and Japanesefigurines are striking. Why were so many of the figurines
commonly broken? (Visitors to the exhibition were givena small dogū-like figurine and encouraged to smash
it at an allocated box in the gallery to gauge how thisfeels.) Perhaps they were broken as part of a game or
to exorcise bad luck transferred to the figurine. Why aresome of the Japanese and Eastern European figurines
goggle-eyed and why do some wear masks. Could it bethat the goggles represent a form of eyewear used toprotect one’s eyes from the glare of the snow as has beensuggested? At one point the visitor was exhorted not toview the figures as male or female but to regard them as
devoid of gender, in order that our understanding be in
no way limited.
Theories abound and it is to the exhibition’s credit that
visitors are encouraged to reflect on prehistoric humanbehaviour.
The exhibition even included the Grimes Graves Goddess,on loan from the British Museum, making a return toNorfolk for the first time since its discovery in the 1930s.
This remarkable rotund figure was unearthed in Norfolk
in 1939 by A L Armstrong and regarded as Neolithic
until the late 20th century, when an investigation carriedout in 1991 by Gillian Varndell from the British Museum,highlighted problems with its authenticity.
The exhibition also featured contemporary responses tothe figurines, including images, photographs and film.
‘Playing in Time’ by Sarah Beare is a playful animation film
commissioned especially for the exhibition. A photographof Frida Kahlo with an Olmeca figurine made me thinkof the fact that Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成) kept adogū on his desk. All of these were a welcome addition,
showing our continuing fascination with these pint-sizedcharacters.

The unearthed exhibition ran from 22 June to 29 August2010 at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of
East Anglia. A different version of this review appearedon the Japan Society Website during summer 2010.
Many more photos from the exhibition can be found in the online
version of this article: http://www.japansociety.org.uk/16697/
unearthed-exhibition-at-the-sainsbury-centre-for-visual-arts
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)7

New Architecture inJapan
by Yuki Sumner
Naomi Pollock with David
Littlefield, photography by
Edmund Sumner
Merrell, London and New York2010, 272 pages, £25.00
ISBN 978-8589-4450
Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
This survey of new architecture in Japan was introduced at alaunching party at Daiwa House on 24 March 2011 with talks
by Yuki and Edmund Sumner. The book features buildings bywell known Japanese architects such as Tadao Ando but also
projects by new younger architects as well as by international
practices including such famous names as Rogers and Foster.
It is not and does not claim to be a survey or history of modern
architecture in Japan. It is essentially an introduction to newarchitectural ideas and themes in Japan and covers a wide
variety of public and private buildings. The photography isoutstanding and makes it possible for the reader to envisage
the buildings and their surroundings.
Travelling through Japanese towns and cities and looking
at Japanese buildings from trains, buses or cars leaves mostvisitors appalled by the drab uniformity and ugliness which has
been imposed on Japan’s natural beauty. The concretisationof the Japanese landscape has seemed to be the aim ofJapanese construction companies and the road lobby which
was so successful with Liberal Democratic Party governments
which built roads and bridges to nowhere as if there was no
tomorrow. Preservation of the old buildings is not something
to which many Japanese have attached much importance
until recently. A visitor to modern Kyoto will at first wonder
how such eyesores could be imposed on the ancient capital ofJapan. Attitudes are, however, now changing and thepreservation of old Kyoto looks more secure, but the tradition,
perhaps because Japanese buildings were mainly made ofwood, has been to replace buildings after a generation or
so has passed. As Naomi Pollock points out in her article on“Architecture in Japan in Context” Japan seems to have an“insatiable appetite for the new.”
Perhaps if the architects whose buildings are illustrated in thisbook are given the chance we shall in the future be able to lookat Japanese towns more in keeping with their surroundings. As
Yuki Sumner points out in an essay on “The Residue of Japanness” young Japanese architects in their “lightness of touchand use of flowing space” which are undeniably Japanesein character “can be traced back to an earlier generation ofarchitects such as Fumihiko Maki and Yoshio Taniguchi.” Shenotes that Arata Isozaki, another famous Japanese architect,
identified two kinds of Japan-ness. One was the “earthy, more
dynamic or ‘populist’ aesthetic of the Jomon period and “themore elegant, even aristocratic” or “elitist” aesthetic of the Yayoi
period.
For someone living in England where investment in8

infrastructure and public buildings has been limited by ashortage of funds and probably also of imagination, thisbook with its photographs of such public buildings as railway
stations, schools and art museums will surely excite some envy,
but as Naomi Pollock notes of some of the museums though
beautifully designed ended up as under-utilized hako-mono(empty boxes) as the buildings came before the content had
been collected.
It is difficult in a short review to do justice to the wide varietyof buildings illustrated in this volume. In the first section
devoted to “Infrastructure and Public Spaces” I was particularly
impressed by such buildings as the Hanamidori Cultural Centre
in Tachikawa (pages 38/9), the Meiso no Mori Municipal Funeral
Hall in Gifu prefecture (pages 42-45), the Naka Incineration Plant
at Hiroshima (pages 46/7) and the Tokyu Toyoko-Line Station
at Shibuya (pages 52/3).
In the second section headed “Culture” I thought that the“Design Sight” Minato, Tokyo (page 58), designed by Tadao
Ando and associates, fitted well into its surroundings and wasan imaginative and striking design.
One of the most impressive of the art galleries illustrated in thevolume seemed to me to be that of the Aomori Museum of Art(pages 62/63). A few, however, struck me as too way-out such
as Gallery Sora, Chuo, Tokyo (pages 68/9). I thought that the
Kanno Museum of Art near Sendai “a pure metal box built tohouse a collection of metal sculptures” (pages 74/5) was an ugly
eyesore. The Nemunoki Museum of Art in Shizuoka prefecture(pages 82/3) on the other hand seems to fit well in an elegant
way into the surroundings.
The section devoted to “Sport and Leisure” includes somebuildings such as the Fujiya Inn in Yamagata prefecture (pages
102/3) and the House of Light inn Niigata prefecture (pages
104/5) which owe much to Japanese traditional architectural
styles. The Takasugi-an (pages 122/3) struck me as inappropriateand ‘way-out,’ trying to be clever by being different
In the section devoted to “Education” I was particularly
impressed by the Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture(pages 144/5) and the Rikuryo Alumni Hall in Osaka (pages
162/3). Some of the modern temples in the section devoted to
Health and Religion are interesting and impressive e.g. White
Chapel in Osaka (pages 182/3).
I was less impressed by the examples in the section devoted
to “Houses and Housing.” Some designs seemed to have been
conceived by a desire to attract attention, although in somecases the designers have made an imaginative use of limited
space. The Section on “Offices and Retail” again shows thatsome Japanese architects put more emphasis on being different
than in practicality and fitting into the surrounding buildings. I
thought F-Town in Sendai (page 238/9) and Showroom H
in Niigata prefecture (pages 260/1) ugly and inappropriate.
Others more attuned to the excesses of modern architects
may disagree.
Anyone interested in modern architecture in Japan will enjoy
this book.
Photos of many of the buildings mentioned in this article canbe found in the online version: http://www.japansociety.org.
uk/16781/new-architecture-in-japan
Issue 30 Volume 5 Number 6 (December 2010)