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Journal Name: Japan Forum: The International Journal of Japanese Studies: June, 2003, Vol.15, No.2
Print ISSN: 0955-5803, Online ISSN:1469-932X
Papers
Japan's pursuit of human security: humanitarian agenda or political pragmatism? (pp193 - 207)
Julie Gilson, Phillida Purvis (University of Birmingham and Links Japan)
Abstract:
This article introduces the concept of human security, as it relates broadly to security studies and as it relates to the case of Japan. It examines the principal criteria by which human security may be measured and introduces the inherent tensions in domestic/international and state/sub-state dimensions of this novel form of security as it pertains to Japan. The article subsequently goes on to examine in practice how the Japanese government has created a 'safe umbrella of "human security"' in order to strengthen its participation in contemporary global society.
Keywords: Human security, non-profit organizations (NPOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights, UN
Japan's foreign policy and human security (pp209 - 225)
Bert Edström (Stockholm University)
Abstract:
Following on from the first article about how human security has become part of the discourse of international relations and how it affects the Japanese state and its people in particular, this article examines the development of the concept with specific reference to its interpretation by different Japanese prime ministers and other leading politicians. It follows the concept from its origins within the United Nations Development Programme during the early 1990s and charts its path through a range of domestic and international policy-making agendas. Particular attention is paid to the role of late Prime Minister Obuchi and his personal ambitions to place human security at the heart of Japanese policy making.
Keywords: Human security, Obuchi Keizō, Ogata Sadako, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Japan-based non-governmental organizations in pursuit of human security (pp227 - 250)
Kaori Kuroda (NGO/Civil Society Programme, The Asia Foundation, Japan Office)
Abstract:
The preceding articles have discussed the overall response of the Japanese government to the growing debate about human security and how it affects state-society relations. This article examines the changing role of the voluntary sector in Japan. It illustrates how civic and interest groups began working on human security issues at many levels before the government had even set human security as a priority issue in its foreign policy, and looks at how changing international and domestic conditions have affected their activities.
Keywords: NGO, voluntary organizations, non-profit organizations, legal structure, government-NGO relations
The role of Japanese NGOs in the pursuit of human security: limits and possibilities in the field of refugees (pp251 - 265)
Yukie Osa (Association for Aid and Relief 'AAR', Japan)
Abstract:
This article examines human security activities on the ground by highlighting the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in providing humanitarian assistance both at home and abroad. In particular, by focusing on a number of specific organizations, it assesses the kinds of campaigns that come under general human security categories and explores the profiles of a variety of aid agencies within Japan.
Keywords: Refugee assistance, NGO/NPO, Association for Aid and Relief (AAR), UNICEF, Japanese Red Cross Society
Japan's human security agenda and its domestic human rights policies (pp267 - 285)
Ian Neary (University of Essex)
Abstract:
This article examines whether and how new approaches to human rights in the 1990s finally demonstrate the implementation of the commitment made by the Japanese government in the post-war constitution and whether these changes constitute the application of a human security agenda. It illustrates, across a range of case studies from Korean residents to children's rights, how different government and civil society activists have responded to international norms and influenced their domestic implementation. In conclusion, it compares the impact of these changes to an espoused commitment to human security since the 1990s.
Keywords: Human rights, human security, United Nations, regulative, constitutive or prescriptive norms, lobbyists
Japan's human rights policy at domestic and international levels: disconnecting human rights from human security? (pp287 - 305)
Mieko Fujioka (International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism 'IMADR', Coordinator, Guatemala Project and Ferris Women's University)
Abstract:
This article examines the general debate about human security with specific reference to the Japanese government's responses to international debates over human rights. It examines in particular the experiences of a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) over the past decade. By taking as a starting point international human rights standards, it illustrates how Japan's responses to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the World Conference Against Racism suggest that the government in Tokyo is far from complying with international agreements or developing domestic policy in the field of human rights.
Keywords: Human rights, NGOs, racism, racial discrimination, Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the World Conference Against Racism
Japan Forum (2003)
Copyright ©2003 BAJS
(This journal is available online at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/routledge/09555803.html)
Posted with permission from the publisher.
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