Japanese and Russian Politics

This volume offers a comparative analysis of Japanese and Russian politics in the 2010s, examining both domestic dimensions and foreign policy. A bi-national collaborative effort, the volume is structured to offer perspectives on each country from both Russian and Japanese scholars. An introduction by Takashi Inoguchi gives a historical overview of the two countries' paths to development as 'late comers' vis-à-vis the West in the late nineteenth century. The analysis that follows reveals that Japan and Russia have come to acquire genuinely striking contrasting features: frequent leadership change despite extraordinary societal stability and continuity in Japan and infrequent leadership change despite extraordinary ups and downs in Russia.

1. Introduction - Japan and Russia; Takashi Inoguchi ? PART I: JAPANESE POLITICS: LEADERS, POLITICAL PARTIES AND ECONOMIC POLICY 2.1. Politics of Swings; Takashi Inoguchi 2.2. Political Parties in Disarray; Dmitry Streltsov PART II: RUSSIAN POLITICS: LEADERS, KREMLIN AND POLITICS OF VPERYOD (FORWARD) 3.1. Politics of Volatility; William Smirnov 3.2. Politics of Dictatorship and Pluralism; Nobuo Shimotomai PART III: JAPAN AND RUSSIA ECONOMICS 4.1. Economics Takes Command; Yutaka Harada 4.2. Politics of Modernization; Liubov Karelova PART IV: JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY: "SEARCHING AN HONORABLE PLACE IN THE WORLD" 5.1. Never at Home Abroad; Shigeki Hakamada 5.2. Foreign Policy in Statu Nascendi; Sergey Chugrov PART V: RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY: VPERYOD (RUSSIA GO FORWARD) EASTWARD? 6.1. Improvising at Kremlin; Akio Kawato 6.2. Pragmatic Realism; Sergey Oznobishchev