Employment and Labor Union Laws in Japan between the 1889 and 1946 Constitutions: A Comparative Study

This research is based on the descriptive and analytical methodology. The importance of studying labor laws and labor unions in Japan between 1889 and 1946 constitutions is because Japan was out of a feudal phase, and had no idea about the factory system and industrialization in their modern sense before the Meiji era. Generally, its labor system used to be mostly familial, and the economic system was based on agriculture. This called for the enactment of legislations and laws appropriate for the coming phase in Meiji era. Thus, this paper examines the role of Meiji government in enacting labor legislations and laws when he came to power in 1896, and his new constitution in 1889 and the civil code of 1896. It further examines the way Meiji government and the following Japanese governments until the end of World War II did not abide by Meiji laws and stipulations of the constitution with their abusive actions in ending the workers’ strikes and disputes, with the inequality between genders in labor and wages, and the use of child labor in factories in an inhuman way. The paper clarifies the role of the American occupation of Japan (1945-1952) after dissolving Meiji constitution and legislations and the government measures that followed them to enact new legislations, laws and constitution for Japan on November 3, 1946, which was active in May 3, 1947. The paper has concluded that the American occupation policy of Japan was able to avoid the dissidence of millions of Japanese workers, whose level of livelihood was deteriorating after their country lost the war, and convert them from a dissident group against the occupation to a peaceful group which did not target the occupation in their future goals.

Acculturation and Rediscovery in Japanese Food Culture

Since the Meiji era (from 1868), in Japan, the excess acculturation towards foreign cultures cannot be stopped. Japan is a surprising food acculturation country. Recently Japan recorded the worst self- sufficiency rate, and the diet has been placing disproportionate weight on meat. Japanese people see its diet as unhealthy and try to find a way to coexist for both their traditional food culture and international one. In Italy, many families still keep eating together at home, but in Japan, families are often eating out. Now Japanese people should rediscover the value of home-made dishes.

Education and ‘Civilization’

Studies on the transformation of the Japanese educational system in the Meiji period usually emphasise the intensity of reforms and their comprehensive character. In the framework of the present study, I will briefly summarise the central aspects of this transformation, then turn to the examination of the tension manifested in Meiji period discourses on education. This is a tension that emerges when one compares the interpretation of the Meiji era as the introduction of ‘enlightened’ Western liberalism with the ideology of centralised reform, far from being as liberal as reported by Meiji period intellectuals themselves. I draw attention to this tension as manifested in the purposes of Meiji educational reforms, then I turn to the analysis of the education of women as a central question in terms of the interpretation of the family in Meiji Japan. The analysis is based on the writings of the leading intellectuals of the time, basically their essays published in the famous journal of the 1870s, Meiroku Zasshi 明六雑誌.

Prisoners' rights implementation in Japan: breaking the shackles with suspects

Several decades have passed since the first call was made toward political scientists, among other social scientists, to devote attention to human rights and enrich, through empirical investigations, our understanding of how human rights implementation works. Today, the political science discipline is finally beginning to respond to this appeal, with an increasing number of scholars making it their goal to isolate variables that obstruct or facilitate human rights implementation. The current paper joins this burgeoning body of literature by offering a within-case analysis of Japanese prison policy-making. In particular, I compare the 2005 bill updating the Prison Law (Kangoku hō) that had been in force in Japan since the Meiji era with an earlier draft version of that bill which appeared in parliament on three occasions since the early 1980s. On the basis of the convergence of these bills in terms of seeking to align Japan with the evolved new global standards for convicted prisoners' treatment, I argue that a three-decade delay occurred in the implementation of prisoners' rights in Japan. To account then for this delay, I point to a provision pertaining to the criminal procedure (i.e., pre-conviction) which was incorporated in the law in question in 1908 merely for pragmatic reasons, and with regard to which the modern-time stakeholders of the bar and the police could not find agreement. Ultimately, the message that this case deals to the political science of human rights is that institutional–infrastructural factors, such as ties of legal nature, matter to human rights implementation.

Motoda Nagazane’s standards of Confucianism – between Confucianism and Emperor Centralism

This paper discusses the ideological significance of the activities of Motoda Nagazane who, in the latter half of his life, became an attendant of Emperor Meiji as a member of the Kumamoto school of practical science. Whilst there were trends towards modernisation and Westernisation, Motoda Nagazane led a conservative reaction attempting to restore Confucianist politics/policies. I scrutinise the theories of revolution and lineage considering the history of East Asian Confucianism and comparing Motoda’s assertions to the views expressed by Kumazawa Banzan. In doing so, I assert that Motoda’s consistent attitude shows that he does not approve of the theory of revolution and that he regards the theory of lineage as an established fact. Thus, he highlights the cultivation of virtues in rulers, adopting the stance typically taken by Confucian scholars in the history of Japanese ideology. In ‘Lessons of the Emperor’s Way’, Motoda attempts to support the meaning of ‘The Three Sacred Treasures’ through Confucian texts. My evaluation of this text results in the view that in this discourse, Motoda transcends the significance of harmonising the deep and difficult ‘Lessons of the Emperor’s Way’ with Confucianism, which is easy to impart. I deduce that Confucianism was positioned above all else as the absolute/comprehensive standard in Motoda’s thought and that his endorsement of the Emperor’s way was proscribed within the ideological boundaries of Confucianism. Through the above analysis, I conclude that Motoda was an anachronistic Confucian scholar who truly endeavored to realise the kingship politics of Yao and Shun in the early Meiji era. While it is acknowledged that he was lagging behind his contemporaries, it is shown that this seemingly backward stance emanated from his serious Confucian scholarship. Further, his assertions differ from the plain-spoken Confucianist Emperor centralism that emerged in later years.

The Rise of The Rising Sun: The Roots of Japanese Imperialism in Mutsuhito Era (1868-1912)

This article aims to discuss the Japanese modernisation of the Mutsuhito Emperor Era, which focused on the developments that triggered Japan to become an imperialist country. The Bakufu government, which had been in power for more than 250 years, must finally end. After being deemed unable to handle the country's condition, the Bakufu government returned the Japanese government ultimately to Emperor Mutsuhito. During the occupation of the Empire's seat, Emperor Mutsuhito was assisted by his advisers to make changes in all fields. The main fields were built by them, such as reorganise the political bureaucracy, developing industrial-economic, and developing military technology. Supported by the progressive developments in the country, Japan was transforming into a large industrial nation. To meet its industrial needs, Japan became an imperialist country and defeated China and Russia during the Mutsuhito period of government. The method used in this research is historical and has five steps, among others determining the topic, sources collection, sources criticism, interpretation, and writing. The results showed that the aggressive development and strengthening in political bureaucracy, industrial economics, and military technology in the Meiji era were the roots of the spirit of imperialism of new Japan. Political, economic, and military are the reasons to undertake imperialism besides cultural and religious reasons