Policy-Making Powers of the Japanese Prime Minister after the 2001 Reforms

Japan’s central government reforms in 2001 introduced a new approach to policy decision making, by implementing institutional measures that gave the Prime Minister a genuine center of power. These measures included legal clarification of the Prime Minister’s power to make proposals at Cabinet meetings, reinforced the Cabinet Secretariat’s planning function, and created the Cabinet Office (in particular, the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy). This paper examines the context behind this drastic transformation, and how these changes were implemented. It also documents the consequences of this power shift, by providing numerical evidence of increases in the Prime Minister’s staff complement, the augmentation of administrative bodies that report to him, and the extent of the legislative power now under his direct authority. Based on these analyses, this paper concludes that this strengthening of the Prime Minister’s power represents a Japanese version of the well-known “presidentialization” framework described by Poguntke and Webb.

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Making Sense of Japan’s Export Restrictions against South Korea

Asian Survey ◽

10.1525/as.2021.61.4.683 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 683-710

Author(s):

Ji Young Kim ◽

Wenxin Li ◽

Seunghee Lee

Keyword(s):

South Korea ◽

Prime Minister ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Policy Measure ◽

Audience Costs ◽

South Korean ◽

Making Sense ◽

Export Restrictions ◽

Japanese Prime Minister ◽

Policy Decision Making

Why did Japanese Prime Minister Abe impose controversial export restrictions after rulings by the South Korean Supreme Court on wartime forced laborers? This article answers this question through the lens of domestic symbolism in economic sanctions studies. We argue that domestic political calculations led the Japanese government to adopt hawkish measures against South Korea. Abe wanted to ensure continued support from his constituents and to win the upcoming election. A series of political reforms since the early 1990s have empowered the prime minister and made LDP politicians pay more attention to public opinion than to factional topography. Strong anti-Korean sentiment among the Japanese public reduced the leadership’s concerns about the audience costs of economic countermeasures. Through an examination of the interplay among various domestic actors over the policy measure, this study provides insights on how domestic symbolism can serve as an origin of foreign policy decision-making in democracies.

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Prime Minister Leadership Styles in Foreign Policy Decision-Making: A Framework for Research

Political Psychology ◽

10.1111/0162-895x.00068 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 553-581 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Julie Kaarbo

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

Leadership Styles ◽

Prime Minister ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Policy Decision Making

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Comparative Analysis of ICT Integration Initiatives in Korean, German and American Educations

Medienbildung im Spannungsfeld medienpädagogischer Leitbegriffe - MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung ◽

10.21240/mpaed/00/2003.01.10.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 2003 (Occasional Papers) ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Myung-Geun Lee

Keyword(s):

United States Of America ◽

Central Government ◽

Policy Decision ◽

The United States ◽

Federal Republic Of Germany ◽

Ict Integration ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Common Problems ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

The Republic

The purpose of this article is to compare three ICT initiatives for education reforms by three countries representing different continents with different cultural backgrounds: the Republic of Korea, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America. Through comparison, some convergences and divergences were found as anticipated. Convergences were found especially in terms of intervention of central government and the spectrum of core policies. Divergences were found especially in implementation approaches and processes of policy decision-making regarding ICT integration into education. Comparing divergences among the three countries reveals common tasks for which they may cooperate on in order to resolve mutual problems. Through the observation of school sites of each country, as well as related literatures, one can see that ICT integration is still far from being satisfactory. Thus, it is implied that, in addition to individual country's efforts such as increasing teacher training, diverse international cooperation focused on common problems must be devised among the three countries.

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Justice in Dementia Care Resource Allocation: How Should We Plan for Dementia Services?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16101754 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 1754 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chia-Feng Yen ◽

Shyang-Woei Lin

Keyword(s):

Resource Allocation ◽

Central Government ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Dementia Care ◽

Service Users ◽

Service Allocation ◽

Eligibility Determination ◽

Determination System ◽

Policy Decision Making

Dementia care resources in Taiwan have not been allocated taking into account patients’ needs and the distance between service users and providers. The objective of this study was to use two newly developed indicators; profit willing distance (PWD) and tolerance limited distance (TLD), to profile the service availability and accessibility of the 22 administrative areas in Taiwan and facilitate justice-based resource allocation by the central government. The study employed secondary data analysis by using a geographic information system (GIS) and geocoding to identify distances between service users and providers. The study samples were drawn from the databank of the National Disability Eligibility Determination System and grouped by the acuteness of registrants’ needs. Both the PWD and TLD were found in 15 of the administrative areas, and neither was found in three areas (Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang County). Either the PWD or TLD (but not both) were found in four areas (only have PWD: Hsinchu and Chiayi City; only have TLD: Yunlin and Taitung County). How the priorities should be set for dementia service allocation based on these findings was also addressed. We conclude that the indicators of PWD and TLD can add value to the policy decision-making process, help set priorities, and facilitate efficient and fair resource allocation by defining specifics of the resources needed.

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A new epistemology of evidence-based policy

Policy & Politics ◽

10.1332/030557319x15657389008311 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 241-258

Author(s):

Philip Sayer

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Evidence Based ◽

New Approach ◽

Socially Constructed ◽

Process Reliabilism ◽

What Works ◽

Evidence Based Policy ◽

Short Period ◽

Policy Decision Making

In a remarkably short period, ‘evidence-based policy’ (EBP), and the associated discourses of ‘what works’, have risen to prominence as a set of organising principles for public policy decision-making. Critics of EBP frequently point to its implicit positivist assumptions by highlighting the socially constructed nature of evidence. However, the effectiveness of this critique is limited by the imprecise and often pejorative use of the term ‘positivism’. This article therefore seeks to offer a more precise account of the underlying assumptions of EBP. To do so, it draws on an epistemological position known as process reliabilism, which analyses the justification of a belief by assessing whether it has been reached by means of an epistemically reliable decision-making process or processes. Through this framework, the article advocates a new approach to EBP which is framed around the principle of avoiding error, rather than that of seeking truth.

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Particularities of Tony Blair’ governments’foreign policy decision-making process

Історико-політичні проблеми сучасного світу ◽

10.31861/mhpi2016.33-34.321-327 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 321-327

Author(s):

Maksym Prykhnenko

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

Prime Minister ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Tree Level ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

Leadership Model ◽

Tony Blair ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

The Government

The present article is devoted to the problem of particularities of Tony Blair’ governments’ foreign policy decision-making process. The aim of the paper is to analyze the decision-making model formed by Tony Blair as well as to identify key factors which impacted the process of creation and implementation of foreign policy decisions in the framework of Tony Blair’ leadership model. It was concluded that Tony Blair had formed tree level decision-making system. Rolls of the Parliament and the Government in the deliberation process were frustrated. On the other hand, special advisers and so called selective committees impacts were strengthened. This institutes played the role of consulting bodies on specific issues of the agenda. Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs were the driving force of all process. But usually the second one was like the executor of Prime Minister’ decision. Keywords: Leadership model, decision-making process, blairism

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Federalism and Foreign Affairs in India

The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Foreign Relations Law ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190653330.013.18 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 313-331

Author(s):

Anamika Asthana ◽

Happymoon Jacob

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Central Government ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Foreign Affairs ◽

Front Line ◽

Pragmatic Approach ◽

Coalition Politics ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

Over Time

This chapter locates India’s foreign affairs within the federal structure of the country’s constitution. As a formal matter, India’s constitution strongly favors the central government’s authority, especially in matters of foreign policy and defense. India’s foreign policymaking processes, however, do not strictly correspond either to a unitary or a federal model and often are responsive to contextual dynamics. As the chapter explains, the central government has over time pursued a pragmatic approach in dealing with subnational engagement in the country’s foreign policymaking, without bringing about substantive and formal structural changes either in the constitution or the front-line institutions dedicated to foreign policy decision-making. Such pragmatism has been prominently evident in the area of international trade, especially since the onset of economic liberalization. Moreover, despite the constitutional preeminence of the central government in matters of foreign policy and defense, state entities in the era of coalition politics have successfully deployed extraconstitutional means, mostly through bargaining and pressure tactics, to influence the central government’s foreign policy processes. Federalization of foreign policymaking therefore, though limited, is an ongoing process in India’s vibrant polity.

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