scholarly journals RUSSIAN–JAPANESE TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS: IS THERE A NEW FULCRUM?

Author(s):  
D. V. Streltsov

Against the background of political chilling between Russia and Japan trade and economic cooperation objectively form a basis for a positive development of bilateral relations in the foreseeable future. The structure of mutual trade has not changed significantly for a number of years. Russia plays the role as a pivotal supplier of certain raw materials for the Japanese market, namely energy resources, non-ferrous metals, seafood and timber. From Japan Russia imports mainly passenger cars and a certain amount of industrial equipment. With regard to investment relations between Russia and Japan, there exists a serious structural problem - the two economies are interdependent from the point of view of the technological division of labor. Russia, particularly its Eastern regions, not possessing sufficient infrastructure and logistics capabilities, as well as cheap labor resources, does not have any competitive advantages for Japanese investment compared to other countries like China. The potential of Russia is mostly viewed in Japan just as an energy donor. Thus the largest prospects of investment cooperation lie in the energy sphere. One can talk of the possibility for raising Russia's share in the Japanese oil and LNG markets. This perspective is supported by the instability of the political situation in the Middle East, which is Japan's main partner for energy supplies. In this connection, large-scale investment projects in the energy field, like the construction of gas pipeline "Sakhalin - Japan" or a power bridge "Sakhalin - Hokkaido", retain their perceptiveness. However, given the political, juridical, organizational, technical and other problems, these projects are difficult for implementation at the present stage. In this situation, the allocation of a certain share for Japan in the strategic energy deposits of Siberia and the Far East and the admission of Japanese capital to the exploration and development of these deposits seem to be a realistic choice for Russian strategic planning towards Japan, as such a cooperation would not be a subject of Western sanctions against Russia. For Russia it is important to build with Japan relationship on a more long-term and lasting basis. One of the possible ways here is to conclude a bilateral economic partnership agreement.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Yuji Murayama ◽  
Yuki Iwai

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> This presentation discusses the regional changes quantitatively in the 200 years through the overlay analysis of the present map and the INŌ’s map made by Tadataka INO in 1821 (Figure 1). INO surveyed the coastline and major roads on foot. He investigated not only survey lines, but also various geographic information such as rivers, lakes, mountains, village names, castles, temples, administrative boundaries, etc. Visualizing all of the 214 sheets of the INŌ’s large-scale map with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we can analyse the national land condition seamlessly at the end of the Edo era.</p><p>Methodological point of view, we have serious problems including the scale, projection, identification of geographic features and so on, when we compare the old map with the present. In this connection, digitalizing the INŌ’s map as the GIS data is very useful to examine the spatial transformation scientifically during the 200 years. The digital INŌ’s map was constructed by employing the geo-reference function of GIS with the triangulation method. The survey line was converted into the line feature of vector data, and the place names were converted into the point feature of raster data. The distance of the survey line was measured by GIS-based geometric operation.</p><p>We obtained the following findings. The distributions of villages, ports, and facilities in western Japan were denser than those in eastern Japan in the 19th century. This was caused not only by the difference in natural environment and landform but also by socioeconomic factors including the locations of the castle towns and industrial activities. The regional structure has been dramatically transformed by the modernization of the political system, transportation system, and industrial development in reclaimed areas (Figure 2). It is concluded that most parts of changes in regional characteristics have been attained by overcoming the natural constraints. However, the difference in the political system has also been influential to the formation of the present regional system.</p>


Author(s):  
D.A. Davydov

The idea of the post-capitalist society has long been associated with the “grassroots” struggle of the exploited classes for the society that is free from all forms of domination and exploitation. D.Davydov does not consider this approach scientific and proposes one should change the lens of research and focus on what is happening at the level of the elites, where the new world is slowly maturing and new relationships are often intertwined with the old ones. The article is devoted to the justification of the argument, according to which the development of the post-capitalist social relations has been going on for a relatively long time — as the rise of people who “possess a personality” (personaliat). The author demonstrates that the unfol ding processes can be explained by the deep economic changes — the transformation of creativity into the predominant source of consumer values. The author elabo rates the idea that the essence of the knowledge economy is not capitalist or even is anti-capitalist, but at the same time he suggests that it is the nature of social relations around creative activity that should be consi dered rather than creative activity per se. From his point of view, despite the fact that the consequences of such activities complicate the functioning of the capitalist economy, the demise of the old economy does not mean that somewhere beyond the horizon we will have a cloudless non-antagonistic future. It is much more relevant to view post-capitalist transformation as the gradual rise to dominance of those who possess power over public attention. The author starts the article with a brief “history of personality” and after that demonstrates how the depersonalized world was gradually “colo nized” by creative public figures. According to his conclusion, today we witness a large-scale transformation of the Political, which is associated with the trend that representatives of personaliat assumed roles of key actors in the political process. Power is transferred from those with money to those with persona lity. However, this shift in itself hardly guarantees the establishment of an egalitarian social order that has overcome all forms of alienation and inequality. Moreover, at the moment such prospect looks doubtful.


2020 ◽  
Vol 192 ◽  
pp. 03002
Author(s):  
Yuliya Arkhipova ◽  
Rudolf Leontiev

The article is devoted to the issue of the possibility of economic development of the mining industry in the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) and the impact of investment projects. With the vast wealth and diversity of mineral resources, their involvement in the national economy is an essential factor in the industrialization and successful development of the regions. In the case of the establishment of processing plants, for a number of minerals, the region could provide its own needs, as well as the countries, finished products from it, and develop an export focus. The article considers the export orientation of the mineral and raw materials complex of Russia and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as the commodity structure of exports of the regions of the FEFD. Special attention is paid to the implementation of major regional investment projects, which are important for the development of the regions. So, it is proposed to implement a major project in the form of an integrated mining and metallurgical complex due to the fact that the region needs its own ferrous metallurgy. The calculations carried out (in various versions: basic, in the conditions of the territory of advanced development (TAD), without the costs of infrastructure creation) showed that the implementation of the project is cost-effective, but due to the high costs, the support of the state is necessary.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-65
Author(s):  
Nikolas Glover

This article examines the background and ambitions of the large-scale Swedish-South Africa Partnership Week that was rolled out across South Africa in November 1999. The Swedish delegation was spearheaded by Prime Minister Göran Persson and consisted of 800 Swedes; high-level ministers, diplomats, civil society representatives and business leaders. The analysis places particular emphasis on the involvement of Swedish multinationals and the central role played by the public relations agency Rikta Kommunikation. Its focus lies on the broader pedagogical function that the Week was intended to have, primarily from a Swedish point of view. I argue that the stated aim to forge an economic partnership between Sweden and South Africa as the logical extension of decades of historical political solidarity was a means of ensuring that citizens learned to understand the pressures and demands of the new era of globalisation. The foreseeable end of Swedish aid to South Africa was to be the dawn of self-sustaining economic relations; “business interests” – for so long derided by the anti-apartheid activists – were henceforth to lead the way. In light of this, I conclude by arguing that the official launch and marketing of a bilateral partnership in 1999 can be seen as part of a government-funded effort to adapt Swedish internationalism to a new era.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3/1) ◽  
pp. 65-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. L. LARIN

The article examines main factors that determine the pace, nature  and direction of everyday life and economic development of Pacific  Russia in the early 21st century. The author identifies and analyzes  fundamental nature and impact of three, in his opinion, basic  challenges, the answers to which determine Russian government  policy towards this region: the threat of its loss under the influence  of internal and external factors; peripheral status and lagging  development based on its specialization in the raw materials extraction; modern Eurasian integration projects of  Moscow, Beijing and Seoul. The first challenge was purely  speculative but it allowed Kremlin to mobilize the country's political  and business elites to strengthen Pacific vector of Russian policy and  support Russia Far East development. In this case, the goal of this  development was not to overcome the peripheral status and raw  specialization of the region, but to utilize its potential more  effectively in the interests of central government. The results were  contradictory from the point of view of both domestic and foreign  policies. Such outcome has prompted central government to create  new instruments and institutions for implementation of his  geopolitical and economic projects on the Pacific. The closure of an  active phase of "Russia's integration into the APR", Kremlin  promotion of the "Big Eurasia" concept as well as the Chinese "Belt and Road" initiative being launched alongside the Russian  project, in the aggregate reserve for Pacific Russia a place "in the  back" of the Eurasian integration, tightly fixing for her the status of a double - European and Asian - periphery.


1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hale N. Tongren ◽  
Leo Hecht ◽  
Kenneth Kovach

Despite the political meandering, economic woes and social upheaval, many U.S and western firms believe this is an ideal time to establish themselves in the vast Russian marketplace. Even with hyperinflation and the newly exchanged currency, there is widespread and growing demand demand for American products of all kinds. There are still many hurdles to overcome for large-scale businesses ventures in raw materials and heavy manufacturing. However, importing, wholesaling/distribution, retailing, education and consulting (both business and government) are just a few of the many high-potential opportunities for U.S. firms. But unlike global ventures in countries with established market economies, U.S managers need to have a clear understanding of the wide differences in the cultural makeup of the American and the Russian people. This article contrasts the two sets of cultural values as they affect work habits, ethics, incentives and personal aspirations. Ten suggestions are included to aid U.S. firms in planning their enterprises, in functioning within the Russian system and in dealing with Russian employees.


Author(s):  
Renran Tian ◽  
Stanley Chien ◽  
Yaobin Chen ◽  
Rini Sherony

As the most commonly seen vulnerable road users, protection and interaction with pedestrians are key functionalities in vehicle active safety and self-driving research areas. Development and evaluation of such systems require deeper understanding of pedestrian behaviors, especially motion patterns, in different driving environments. Traditionally, most of the pedestrian movement studies rely on fixed roadside cameras in specific road locations with higher pedestrian density, like intersections and junctions. Although these studies can provide information to describe pedestrian walking behavior and vehicle-pedestrian interactions in micro and macro levels, there are two main limitations. Firstly, pedestrian movement data are rarely collected from the vehicle’s point of view, which makes some critical variables difficult to be collected related to pedestrian initial appearance situation. Secondly, insufficient data are acquired to cover low- pedestrian-density road environments like mid-block, rural areas, and small un-controlled intersections. In this study, we focus on three important pedestrian movement variables including appearance distances, initial time-to-collision, and crossing speed under different driving and road scenarios. Based on a large-scale naturalistic driving study, crossing pedestrians were randomly captured in the scene videos from 110 passenger cars when potential ego-vehicle-to-pedestrian conflicts appeared during a one-year period. Motion data of these pedestrians were then analyzed to calculate the targeted behavior measurements, with the empirical results reported.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-61
Author(s):  
Pelin Sönmez ◽  
Abulfaz Süleymanov

Türkiye, Cumhuriyet tarihinin en yoğun zorunlu göç dalgasını 2011 yılından bu yana süren Suriye Savaşı ile yaşamaktadır. Suriye vatandaşlarının geçici koruma statüsü altında Türkiye toplumuna her açıdan entegrasyonları günümüzün ve geleceğin politika öncelikleri arasında düşünülmelidir. Öte yandan ülkeye kabul edilen sığınmacıların kendi kültürel kimliğini kaybetmeden içinde yaşadığı ev sahibi topluma uyumu, ortak yaşam kültürünün gelişmesi açısından önem arz etmektedir. Bu makalede, "misafir" olarak kabul edilen Suriyeli vatandaşların Türk toplumunca kabul edilmeleri ve dışlanma risklerinin azaltılmasına yönelik devlet politikaları ortaya konularak, üye ve aday ülkelere göçmenlerin dışlanmasını önlemek için Avrupa Birliği (AB) tarafından sunulan hukuki yapı ve kamu hizmeti inisiyatifleri incelenmekte, birlikte yaşam kültürü çerçevesinde Suriyeli vatandaşlara yönelik  toplumsal kabul düzeyleri ele alınmaktadır. Çalışma iki ana bölümden oluşmaktadır: göçmen ve sığınmacılara karşı toplumsal dışlanmayı engellemek için benimsenen yasa ve uygulamaların etkisi ve İstanbul-Sultanbeyli bölgesinde Suriyeli sığınmacılarla ilgili toplumsal algı çalışmasının sonuçları. Bölgede ikamet eden Suriyelilere yönelik toplumsal kabul düzeyinin yüksek olduğu görülürken, halkın Suriyelileri kendilerine  kültürel ve dini olarak yakın hissetmesi toplumsal kabul düzeyini olumlu etkilemektedir. ABSTRACT IN ENGLISHAn evaluation of the European Union and Turkish policies regarding the culture of living togetherThis article aims to determine the level of social acceptance towards Syrians within the context of cohabitation culture by evaluating EU’s legal structure and public service initiatives in order to prevent Syrian refugees from being excluded in member and candidate countries and by revealing government policies on acceptance of Syrians as “guest” by Turkish society and minimizing the exclusion risks of them. This article consists of two main parts, one of which is based on the effects of law and practices preventing refugees and asylum seekers from social exclusion, and the other is on the results of social perception on Syrians in Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul. At the end of 5-years taking in Syrian War, it is obvious that most of more than 3 million Syrian with unregistered ones in Turkey are “here to stay”. From this point of view, the primary scope of policies should be specified in order to remove side effects of refugee phenomenon seen as weighty matter by bottoming out the exclusion towards those people. To avoid possible large-scale conflicts or civil wars in the future, the struggle with exclusion phenomenon plays a crucial role regarding Turkey’s sociological situation and developing policies. In the meaning of forming a model for Turkey, a subtitle in this article is about public services for European-wide legal acquis and practices carried out since 1970s in order to prevent any exclusion from the society. On the other hand, other subtitles are about legal infrastructure and practices like Common European Asylum and Immigration Policies presented in 2005, and Law on Foreigners and International Protection introduced in 2013. In the last part of the article, the results of a field survey carried out in a district of Istanbul were used to analyze the exclusion towards refugees in Turkey. A face-to-face survey was randomly conducted with 200 settled refugees in Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul, and their perceptions towards Syrian people under temporary protection were evaluated. According to the results, the level of acceptance for Syrians living in this district seems relatively high. The fact that Turkish people living in the same district feel close to Syrian refugees culturally and religiously affect their perception in a positive way: however, it is strikingly seen and understood that local residents cop an attitude on the refugees’ becoming Turkish citizens.


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