Publications

The organisational sophistication of Japanese trade unions has been in notable decline since the 1960s. Especially the growing number of workers in precarious employment is hardly organised in unions. This paper analyses legislation that affects trade unions, as well as organisational patterns on the firm- and sector-/national-level.

Prime Minister Noda was confirmed as chairman of governing party DPJ in September 2012, however he faces continuing resistance from parts of his own party as well as the opposition. Shinzo Abe from the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) was re-elected to this post as chairman after resigning from the position five years ago. He has been emphasizing in regard to territorial conflicts with China and South Korea, the necessity to defend Japan's territory. It seems that the opposition will continue to push for a timely dissolution of the lower chamber and new elections.

The economic and social costs of narrowly austerity-focused policy-making, i.e. of a singular focusing on budgetary discipline, are highly destructive – indeed, they threaten European unity. This is evident in the observation that in the past two years, the European crisis has not calmed down, but rather intensified. Moreover, the credit risks that Germany is backing have not declined but instead risen massively.

One year has passed since a level 9 earthquake hit Japan’s North-East and caused a tsunami that devastated several cities and villages and took almost 20,000 lives, and subsequently to which the catastrophe at the Fukushima power plant began to develop. After a short period of optimism in the second half of 2011, disillusionment and even pessimism have now become the dominant mood among the Japanese.

In the United Nations, particularly with respect to UN Security Council reform, Japan is often considered of major importance. However, the UN receives scant attention in Japanese foreign policy. This paper critically analyses Japanese policy towards the United Nations and the possibility of Japan becoming a permanent member of the Security Council.