Sessions 10 & 11 - Japan Since 1945 Workshop, 12/8

[cgao]

Fumiaki Kubo, University of Tokyo
US-Japan Relations Since WWII
Reading attached

Ulrike Schaede, UCSD
Japanese Business: Sucesses and Challenges 
Reading attached 

Kerim Yasar, USC
Giants & Toys: The Americanization of Japanese Business?
Please watch Yasuz Masumura’s 1958 film Giants & Toys at https://youtu.be/G6erSnQLP5E

Clay Dube, USC
Teaching about Contemporary Japan

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[Christine Moguel]

I enjoyed listening to Professor Kubo lecture on how relations between Japan and the US were reconciled, after Pearl Harbor April 1, 1942 to the Tokyo Air Raid in March 10, 1945 in Hiroshima Nagasaki and WWII occurrences between the countries.  It was interesting to find out that they were able to rebuild- repair, and move forward from these historical staged attacks with much patience and willingness to move forward.  It was noted that there was not shortage of anger and bitter feelings between the two countries they ultimately created an asymmetric defense treaty of sorts.  Due to the detail of the defense treaty, US was obligated to defend Japan while Japan was not obligated to defend the US. We wanted an ally to help garner some kind “maintenance of International peace security in the far East’ (South Korea, South Vietnam, Taiwan)  and as such, US were allowed to use bases in Japan.    Although US presence – and ultimate role as Japans defense ally existed on the island, Japanese did not all want them there.   The Japanese might not all be on board with US presence, however they continue to sustain military outposts in Japan today.   

[Christine Moguel]

I am a visual learner, as are my students, I feel that Professor Schaede’s presentation was incredibly easy to visualize, comprehend, and decode (i.e. with line charts, graph charts etc.).  I feel that integrating highly academic content with visual aides, color coded along with a walk through definition.   I feel my students would be able to learn the production model that illustrates how Japan went from ‘Old” Japan to ‘New’ Japan and their industrial policy.  I cant wait to get my hands on her power point.  I could definitely conjure a lesson wherein I take the USA industrial policy and the Industrial policy in Japan and compare and contrast the two countries production growth model.  Because my students identify Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nintendo, and Sony- they will be better able to follow through with the concepts of innovation, commerce, and trade using these highly visual aides, animated description, and global trade.  Im inspired to start working on the lesson – after xmas break!

[Ingrid Herskind]

Professor Kubo's article on the path of reconciliation showed the importance of patience and compromise from both sides. After reading the article, I was interested in hearing more about how the asymmetrical relationship between the United States and Japan continues to work and whether or not Japan wants to make this relationship more symmetrical.

Dr. Kubo's explanation of the asymmetry in rights and obligations puts into perspective why the United States doesn't need a willingness to defend the United States obligation  from Japan. As Trump had stated his concerns about this imbalance in the relationship, Professor Kubo explained why the relationship works. By allowing the US to use Japan's multiple bases throughout the island and on Okinawa, this "imbalance" is not quite as asymmetrical.

Professor Kubo also stated that PM Abe would like to see Japan further revise Article 9. The prime minister has called for adding an explicit reference to the SDF in war-renouncing Article 9, which bans Japan from maintaining air, sea and land forces, so there is no room to view them as unconstitutional. The prime minister said the security situation around Japan has grown severe at a much faster rate than five years ago, when Japan set the current guidelines.

This is an interesting idea considering only 11% of the Japanese are willing to fight for their own country.

[Ingrid Herskind]

Dr. Shaede's lecture on the changing nature of Japan's economy really illuminated the complexities of the rise and transformation of Japan's business and economic state. I really enjoyed her analysis of the Industrial Policy transformations from the Old Japan system to the New Japan's system of moving into an Upstream market in technological expertise and innovation. Her statistical analysis of this movement to the "invisible" upstream market shows how important the trade relationship is for the United States and Japan. Roughly every five years, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry draws up a list of major fields of technology. Japan saw that they were stagnating in the Globalization of Supply Chain and needed to either "swim upstream" or stagnate in the downstream market of zero profitability assembly. China was starting to dominate in this market, and Japan made the risky and smart move toward global market dominance--contributing to the production of many technological innovations and products.

[Lin Kuang]

Professor Kubo abviouslyis  very knowlegable with veriety of rsearches and studies represented Japanese government. It was very impressed the way he talked about the relationship between USA and Japan during the wartime and postwar relationship development economically and diplomatically. I noticed towards the end of his lecture he mentined the disputeed Senkaku isuse. He title his slide " Chinese Vessels enter Japan's Senkaku ..." with bar charts indicated the activities Chinese vesseals conducted in Japanese Senkaku daily. I quite disagee with him at this point becasue Senkaku Diaoyudao was Chinese territory since Ming dynasty.  In Qing Dynasty, Diaoyudao was part of Taiwang. When Janpnese invaded weaked China and seized Taiwang as war spoils. In my perspective, it's quite usual that Chinese vessels are doing their routine-activities in their own territory not " Enter" in Senkaku many times /day.

[Kim Leng]

During Professor Kubo's lecture, I thought about the alliance between US and Japan.  You read my mind with this thought: "By allowing the US to use Japan's multiple bases throughout the island and on Okinawa, this "imbalance" is not quite as asymmetrical."  Japan allowing US to have military bases is a huge benefit to the US.  With this alone the US is able to be in a very important strategic place in East Asia. 

I was also surprised at the low percentage of Japanese (11% )  willing to defend Japan.  Why so low?  I kept thinking about the low percentage.  I think a possible reason may have to be the impact of the bombings of Japan.  So many people died and it was horrific.  The effects of radiation continued long, long, after the war.  I think Japan remembers how horrible war can be.  Check out these articles: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki  and https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-still-inform-health-today-180956185/

I think the low percentage of Japanese willing to defend Japan will make a good reflection exercise for students and then have them read the history.com article followed by the Smithsonian article by Marissa Fessenden. I found the Smithsonian article after I thought about the low percentage.  The last passage stated, "The atomic bombs’ immediate effects devastated both cities and killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people. But the psychological toll of radiation may be one of the most enduring parts of the bombs' legacy." So it's not just the physical effects of the war, but the psychological effects as well.

[Margaret Siryj]

I was entralled by Professor Schaede's presentation on Japanese business.  Her article that was published in Asia Pacific Business Review spoke to "New Japan" and how large Japanese companies had to make a change, a "shift" from their post-war priority of sales and market shares to profitability.  It was fascinating how she discussed that "New Japan" is more tightly controlled by the government vis a vis the "Old Japan" and traditional familial structured business and business models.  In recent times, the Japanese business must report profits and losses.  In the past, a family had a large and substantial control over a given business, and this formation does not lead to transparency.  Needless to say, it is difficult to adjust to this new way of doing business.  The article suggests that the 1990s was a time in history that innovation became critical for survival in the marketplace.  Professor Schaede mentioned that Japanese companies are all about quality.  Innovation brings diversity, and the ability for Japanese companies to compete on a global scale.  Her article stated that the 1990s were a challenging decade because this Asian nation had tremendous difficulties with the concept of change.  The article further stated that "straightjacket" effect was in place and easy organization was out of the picture.  Along with this effect, profitability was challenged by globalization.  This ushered in a problematic situation because the "Old Japan" was cluttered by politics and "vested interests".  The attached link could be used in an Economics class or World History to spotlight the 1990s in Japan.  Students would view the video and have a DBQ (Document Based Questions) pertaining to the information featured in the video clip.

• Japan Tokyo Part 1 1990

  youtube.com

•  

[Lin Kuang]

When we look at the  Pearl Harbor and Tokyo Air Raid , Hiroshima, Nagasaki, we understood one thing. " Never crack your eggs on hard rocks", or the consequences will be severe. Afrer the WWII, Japan dramatically changed from a millitaristic to an extreme pacifist demoncracy. They surrendered to the world power unconditionally. Since ever, the enemies became allies. US is obligated to defend Japan, not Japan defending US. US allow to use bases in Japan an dalso for the " maintainance of international peace and security in the far east. We knew US army soldiers constantly have conflict with local residents even though their primary jobs are to defend them, but as time goes on, there're more issues. I really enjoy Professor Kubo's sharp views on all hot topics and his sincerity towards them.

 

[Lin Kuang]

I totally agree with you. Dr. Shaede seems more American stlye, she is quite open.obviousely engaging her audience with her body language and her emthusiasm about the topic she was taking about. She incooporated large amont of graphs and made her presentation very easy and interesting. She raised questions and allowed her aufience to interact with her and carry the conversations on very smoothly. The economic impact Japan used to have in America is great, Toyota, Honda, Kodak , Sony, etc. used to create lots of jobs for Americans,. Actually, the Koreans learnd and modified a little bit of the logo ( Honda - Hyundai), which is very identical. "Old Japan" used to be one of the "Four Little Dragons" in Asia leading the power of the economy. When I stopped to connect my next plane to Shanghai in 2014, the Tokyo AIrport was so empty, but extremely clean and environmental, excellent service. My students are every interested in Japan, the animated cartoon figures are very attractive for them, the food, and the culture, which will be embedded in my future lessons.

[Lin Kuang]

I really appreciated Dr.Kubo's sinsere word choices used to depict the apologies from Japan to USA becasue of the Pearl Harbor Attack, but how about the " Little Boy" and " Fat Man" bombing of Hirohima and Nagasaki to make Japan surrender unconditionally, the damages to the innocent residents are beynd our imagination without considerations. The Little Boy immediately killed 80.000 people, later ten of thousands died of radiation exposure, and the Fat Man killed 40,000 people to end WWII. Who was going to be blamed? Do we have any other ways to force Japan surrender instead of thowing neclear bombs to kill innocent people at that time to bombard the left two unbombed cities ?

[Kim Leng]

I enjoyed Professor Kubo’s lecture on the Strengths and Weaknesses of Rights-Obligations Asymmetrical Alliance between the United States and Japan.  This is a complicated alliance not to be taken lightly.  I learned that many Japanese are not interested in gaining a more symmetric alliance and that Japanese who are willing to defend the country amounts to only 11%.  Wouldn’t it be interesting for students to read about the US-Japan Security Treaty found here http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1950_usjapan.htm

 and have them discuss their views on the US-Japan alliance?  They can read the introduction and take a look at the primary documents regarding US-Japan Treaties.  After reading the the documents, a possible essential question up for debate could be whether Japan’s Treaty with US should be more symmetrical.  What’s their opinion? I would have them make a list of strengths and weaknesses and then do a gallery walk to compare.

[Kim Leng]

Professor Schaede is an amazing lecturer.  She hooked me immediately when she posed the question: How did Japan become an economic powerhouse?  The history of Japan becoming such an economic powerhouse is so interesting!  This small nation with limited resources is 3^rd in the world’s economy. That’s so powerful considering that Japan has a workforce of 65 million people.  If I were to create a list of “Top 5 Facts About Japan’s Economy,” that I gathered from the lecture it would be the following:

1. Prius is made only in Japan.
2. Japan is the 3^rd largest economy in the world.
3. Japan’s workforce is 65 million people.
4. Japan invented a term translated as “Industrial policy.”
5. After 1973 oil crisis, Japan focused on technology.

I wish we had more time with Professor Schaede.  She’s one of my favorite lecturers so far.

[Mario Galindo]

In Part I of his lecture: Reconciliation, Professor Kubo stated that overcoming the past for Japan and the United States of America was a extremely rare occurence, specifically because, generally speaking, it left a limited enemy/colonizer relationship after Imperialism. This truly intrigued me.

Professor Kubo went on to explain and list many of the posible reasons for this. For example, Japan's signs of Democracy in the 1920's before the overpowering militarism of the 1930's, The Cold War's push to make Japan an ally to help with the USSR, and one of the most striking--American occupation until the Vietnam era and LBJ's return of Okinawa in 1972.

Not till after reading "The 1950s: Pax Americana and Japan's Postwar Resurgence" from Takuya Sasaki and Hirodhi Nakanishi and researching a bit on The Intercept and also reading their article "Japan Made Secret Deals With the NSA That Expanded Global Surveillance" by Ryan Gallagher did I begin to understand why Professor Kubo possibly presented this complex historical period the way he did. And I am truly honered to have had the experience.

To keep this forum-length, as of 2013 American military base Camp Hansen on Okinawa is where, according to the Gallagher's article, mass surveillance, data gathering, and "robust" military working relations continue. Also, in the Sasaki and Nakanishi piece incidents like the "Lucky Dragon" in the early 1950's have fueled the what-really-is-the-treaty-agreed-upon that Japan and the US have had/have since the very successful surprise Pearl Harbor attack?

[Mario Galindo]

Professor Schaede's lecture make me think about and understand something I had forgot about: specifically what she called the "smiley curve of profits".

Sometime in the late seventies or early eighties, if my memory can be trusted, I watched an interview on television with a Japanese carmaker where he said that the United States would never beat Japan in the autombile market. This comment made a huge impression on me because it is the first time I remember, again, if my memory can be trusted, that I thought about how we Americans where different from the rest of the world. I had started noticing how I was American when I visited family in Mexico and Mexican when I was in the Los Angeles. While I understood the ethicity and crossing the border aspect, the subtlties of culture, race, discrimination, and societal cronyism were just beginning to wake up questions (something that even now, decades later, still fascinate me).

The automaker, who was probably an executive (I remember the suit) said that Japanese made cars for the long run, that they manufactured looking at the big picture of years to come, while American car companies made cars with a short sighted, days, weeks and a tiny picture. I understood that automatically. I remember, now, how this insight guided me for years and years. I was living and doing things for the long run, not for immediate gratification.

All this came back when Professor Schaede drew her IMPORT to MANUFACTURE to EXPORT to $$$$$ chart and explained how this worked for Japan for cars, but also electronics, and had been repeated world wide by other countries. The Choose and Focus aspect of her explanation gave me the missing link of this early lesson. So much so that I passed it on to my entrepreneurial son. And once we begin a new Semester my students will also get the full lesson.

Writing this now I am thinking I should ask for a cut of their first million.

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