Dynamics of Interpersonal Political Environment and Party Identification: Longitudinal Studies of Voting in Japan and New Zealand

The dynamical systems theory of groups claims that interpersonal political environment and party identification are dynamically interrelated to provide heuristics under uncertainty. Panel data over the course of a year examined the longitudinal dynamics between social networks, social identifications, and voting behavior among a national sample of registered voters in Japan and a regional sample in Wellington, New Zealand. Respondents with more stable party identification had greater stability in the political preferences of their interpersonal network in both countries; moreover, stability in party identification was predicted by interpersonal political environment and older age in both countries. Stability of party identification predicted voting consistency in both countries, whereas stability of interpersonal political environment made an independent contribution to voting consistency in Japan only. There were cultural differences in levels of interpersonal political environment stability, but the amount of political discussion and ideological stability did not make independent contributions to any of the three main variables. Results provided support for the dynamical systems theory of groups.     

百年文化论争的理论教条

在近代百年的文化论争中,论战的各方都在哲学思维层面接受社会有机思维方式,这种思维方式把社会各组成部分看作是紧密联系和不可分离的,正是这个理论教条使时人看不清楚传统文化在工业化过程中的重要作用。传统文化是工业化之弊的解毒剂,这是传统文化在当代社会的最重要的价值。由于思想家没有对传统文化进行点化,使中国工业化的思想资源严重缺乏,这使中国失去一个和谐发展的机会。当务之急是破除社会有机思维方式的理论教条,并对传统文化进行点化,从而使中国走出一条与西方社会不同的工业化发展道路。这是百年文化论争的最后解决。     

An Interpersonal Communication Perspective on Images of Political Candidates

Much of the research dealing with the relationship between candidate images and candidate preferences has attempted to assess dimensions of the candidate's image that are relatively “personal” in nature. By and large, most of this research focuses on static traits—for example, aspects of the candidate's persona relating to such dimensions as warmth, attractiveness, or dynamism. In contrast, the current study attempts to assess the degree to which candidate preferences are significantly associated with observable behavior. This was done by asking respondents to evaluate Ronald Reagan and Walter Mandate with an instrument normally used to assess elements of interpersonal communication. It was found that communication behavior ratings of Reagan and Mandate significantly predicted differential preferences for these candidates, even after controlling for the respondents’ political orientations.     

Japanese social structure and white collar crime: Recruit cosmos and beyond∗

While Japan is today an advanced industrial society, much like the advanced industrial societies of Europe and North America, there are significant cultural and social structural differences found in modem Japan. In this respect, as the first advanced industrial society in Asia, Japan provides us with an interesting test of many sociological theories and concepts which have been formed from the experiences of Western industrial societies. Beginning with the recent example of the Recruit stock scandal in Japan, the present paper will outline some of the important aspects of Japanese social structure, such as extensive group unity and vertical organization, which influence the nature of white collar crime in Japan's current political‐economy. From such an examination as this social scientists can better understand not only white collar crime in Japan, but also the nature of white collar crime in the United States.     

吉备真备与唐代易学东传

吉备真备是日本奈良时期(中国唐代)著名的学者、政治家、军事家,是中日文化交流史上的重要人物。他在唐留学19年,将中国的许多重要典籍带回日本,促进了日本政治制度的建设与完善。同时,有史料证明他也是将易学传入日本的重要人物之一。本文通过日本史料解读唐代易学东传中吉备真备的作用及其对易学中占卜内容的态度等问题。     

Cross-cultural Protective Effects of Neighborhood Collective Efficacy on Antisocial Behaviors: Mediating Role of Social Information Processing

Studies on the prevention of antisocial behavior in neighborhoods through efficacious social control have focused on collective efficacy as the theoretical mechanism by which children at the community level can be successfully socialized to develop an aversion to antisocial behaviors. We hypothesized that the effect of collective efficacy within communities on antisocial behaviors could be mediated by social-information-processing biases and tested the generality of these mediation effects for undergraduates (N = 929) in Japan, China, South Korea, and the United States, countries with widely varying cultures and political systems. Structural equation modeling revealed that the effects of collective efficacy on antisocial behaviors were perfectly mediated by social-information-processing biases. Findings also confirmed the generality of these mediational effects in all four countries investigated.     

Sakuma Shozan's Hegelian vision for Japan

By the mid‐19th century, an increasing number of Japan's political leaders and scholars realized that Japan had to adapt and incorporate some elements of Western‐style industrialization into their own political and economic order as the necessary means to remain independent of Western imperialism. The Opium War in China, and later the Euro‐American bombardments of the domain capitals in Choshu and Satsuma demonstrated that trying to defend the realm with only an increased emphasis on coastal defense would ultimately fail to keep out the barbarians from the West. Sakuma Shozan, a samurai scholar from Matsushiro, proposed a dichotomous philosophy of ‘Eastern ethics, Western science’ as the means to strengthen Japan both internally and externally, and allow Japan to maintain its independence. In this paper, I argue that Sakuma's dichotomous approach can be interpreted within a Hegelian dialectical paradigm. After the traditional order of Japan (Eastern ethics as Idea/Thesis) came into contact with the industrializing order of the West (Western science as Nature/Anti‐Thesis), Sakuma believed a new order would be created in Japan (Synthesis) that combined an increased knowledge on the Eastern ethics of Neo‐Confucianism with the ‘new’ scientific knowledge of the West.     

Culture, Society, and the Individual: Cross-Cultural Political Psychology in Japan

Studies of political behavior and attitudes in Japan have often looked to similarities and differences between the West, most notably the U.S., and Japan. This paper details two approaches concerned with examining Japanese social and political behavior within a cross-cultural context. The first—nihonjinron—works with cultural nationalism, which argues that Japanese values are unique and thus no social theory developed in the West can be applied to Japanese society. The second approach is characterized by field studies and tries to assess Japanese social behavior by comparing it to that of Americans and Europeans. There is a great deal of knowledge on political behavior in Western countries which scholars in Japan often refer to in order to evaluate the significance of their survey results. But there is still limited information on the Japanese situation, and any attempt to construct a general theory in either cultural or cross-cultural political psychology will have to refer also to human attitudes in this non-Western industrial society.     

The Great Mandate,Sages and Sufism: Expounding Ma Dexin and his Sino-Muslim predecessors

Abstract: Ma Dexin (1794–1874), the prestigious Sino-Muslim philosopher, bridged Sufi ideas and Neo-Confucian philosophy by his handling of the concept of the Great Mandate. For Ma, the Sufi idea of ‘the Muhammadan Reality’, namely the reality of the perfect human, could be understood through an adoption and exploration of an ontological and cosmological interpretation of the Confucian concepts ‘sage’ and ‘ming’. The paper explains how Ma departed from the Neo-Confucian conceptual framework by holding that the Non-Ultimate had more ontological significance than the Supreme Ultimate. It is proposed that Ma's difference from the Neo-Confucians on that point explains his identification of the Great Mandate with the Non-Ultimate.     

Political Distrust and Gendered Attitudes: The Japanese State and Women

We explore sources of political trust by examining one’s gender role attitudes as they relate to political trust in Japan. We hypothesize that progressive gender role attitudes are associated with political distrust. This political distrust is perhaps caused by relative deprivation which progressive individuals experience, given that gender relations are still traditional in Japan. We further hypothesize that this distrust among women extends to the government itself. We analyze the 2003 Japanese General Social Survey, a national representative survey of Japanese adults. Based on multivariate analyses of 1,807 respondents, we find support for our hypotheses. Our findings suggest that gender issues are salient among progressive individuals, especially among women.     

Confucianism and its Modern Values: Confucian moral,educational and spiritual heritages revisited

This article argues that what makes Confucianism a living tradition in the modem world cannot be any fixed pattern of familial, social and political life. The modem relevance of Confucianism is in its moral and spiritual values. Among these values, its concern about moral responsibilities, its emphasis on the importance of transmission of values, and its humanistic understanding of life, are the key elements for the Confucian relevance to the future, and will make a contribution to an ethic of responsibility, give a new momentum to the establishment of a comprehensive education system, and help people in their search for the ultimate meaning of life in the age of the global village.     

Revolutions, Samurai, and Reductons: The Parodoxes of Change and Continuity in Iran and Japan

This paper assesses policies for managing cultural diversity in Iran and Japan, with particular focus on the treatment of women as a cultural minority. Following social reducton theory, the distinction between rates of cultural change at macro- and microlevels is highlighted. It is argued that macro political and economic changes have taken place fairly rapidly, but micro changes in everyday social practices have changed much more slowly. The latter, it is argued, are structured by social reducton systems, which can act to slow down societal change. This insight is used to cast light on the situation of women and other minorities in North America.     

Territorial Conflicts and Japanese Attitudes Towards East Asian Countries: Natural Experiments with Foreigners' Landings on Disputed Islands

Japan disputes the sovereignty of two islands: Senkaku/Diaoyu with China and Takeshima/Dokdo with South Korea. These disputes have triggered political performances. In August 2012, Chinese activists landed on Senkaku/Diaoyu, and South Korean politicians landed on Takeshima/Dokdo. The group threat theory suggests that these events constitute threats to Japanese citizens, which lead to negative attitudes towards these countries. The theory also expects personal variations in the reactions to the threats, and the empirical findings of the theory predict an improvement in the worsened attitudes immediately after the event. Drawing on a Japanese social survey that was conducted every month for the two years during which these landing events occurred, I tested the effect of the events on Japanese attitudes towards China and South Korea in a natural experimental framework. The results show that the events negatively impacted Japanese attitudes towards both countries. However, contrary to the expectations of the group threat theory, individual variations (i.e., socioeconomic status, media exposure, and political orientation) in the responses to the events are not supported. Additionally, the attitudes do not return to preevent levels for one year. The contradictions between previous studies and this study potentially originate from the importance of the territories.     

Must we choose our leaders? human rights and political participation in China

The essay begins from Alan Gewirth's influential account of human rights, and specifically with his argument that the human right to political participation can only be fulfilled by competitive, liberal democracy. I show that his argument rests on empirical, rather than conceptual grounds, which opens the possibility that in China, alternative forms of participation may be legitimate or even superior. An examination of the theory and contemporary practice of ‘democratic centralism’ shows that while it does not now adequately support the right to political participation, a reformed version could. I focus in particular on the roles that could be played by consultative institutions, looking both to recent Chinese proposals and to analogues currently existing in Japan. I conclude that a reformed democratic centralism may well be the objective toward which Chinese people should strive.     

On Nancy Fraser's “Women,Welfare and the Politics of Need Interpretation”

In “Women, Welfare and the Politics of Need Interpretation,” Nancy Fraser pursues a “meaning-oriented” inquiry intended to illuminate the gender bias of the American welfare system in order to aid feminists and their allies in the continuing political struggles over the welfare system. For Fraser the fundamental issues are over judgments about what women need—“need interpretation.” I argue that although her analysis of the system is vivid and provocative, it is inadequate as a contribution either to political theory or practical strategy. Fraser substitutes a search for patterns and meanings for careful clarification and defense of political values. She leaves needs without foundation and does not explore the capacities for change in modem liberal states. The meanings she reveals provide us neither with a sound basis for judgments on political values nor with a strategy for improvement.     

自由主义:伦理内涵的嬗变与困境

任何完整的政治理论都有其特定的价值结构,为其现实政治主张、制度结构、政策机制的提供伦理支持,并随着时代政治、经济、文化条件的发展而变换其内涵。西方自由主义政治理论的发展分为启蒙时期、功利主义、现代自由主义等重要阶段,自然权利、功利原则和社会公正分别是其不同时代的核心价值要求。阐释和分析自由主义的伦理内涵变换及其理论和现实困境,为了解当代西方自由主义的价值变换及政策走向提供了一个有益的理论视角。     

Inclusive strategies for restraining aggression—lessons from classical Chinese culture[1]

An extensive body of Chinese philosophical thought suggests a redefinition of international security in terms of a non‐threatening formulation of Comprehensive Security. In one culture viewed as particularly ‘strategic’, i.e. Chinese culture, we find strong traditions of inclusive, non‐aggressive forms of security. Mo Tzu and the school of Mohism (5th‐3rd centuries BC) developed a rigorous body of thought and practice based on universal regard, the protection of small states, and disesteem for aggressive wars. This is paralleled by a more general emphasis in the classical Chinese philosophical and political tradition on the means of civilisation (wen) over the methods of brute warfare (wu). In modem regional crises such as the dispute between Taiwan and the PRC (People's Republic of China), it is crucial to engage the wen (cultured) aspect of the political tradition. In this context, deterrence of aggression by reciprocal threats is only a short‐term solution.     

论中国文化中的社会认知思想

中国文化中具有十分丰富的社会心理学思想,其中包括社会认知的思想。中国文化中的社会认知思想包括知人观、知人术和有关认知者的理念等内容,是一个从有关知人的重要性、困难性、可能性到各种知人的方法、技巧以及认知者理念的内涵丰富的整体系统。知人术即是典型的中国人社会认知的方式,它以中国社会、中国文化、中国人的思维和生活方式以及中国语言特有的形式表现出来,既不同于西方的社会心理学思想,也有别于现代社会心理学的理念和范式,形成了独具特色、自成体系的中国人的社会认知思想。其中,有关具身认知的思想,与现代具身认知的理念相一致,同时又具有独特的中国人和中国文化的具身特点,显示出中国古人有关社会认知思想的先见性与高明性。中国文化中的社会认知思想既是中国本土化心理学的重要组成部分,也是对当代社会心理学有关社会认知内容的不可或缺的重要补充。     

On the Contextual Turn in the Tokugawa Japanese Interpretation of the Confucian Classics: Types and Problems

This article discusses the “contextual turn” in the interpretation of Chinese classics: the contextuality of Confucian classics in China was latent, tacit, and almost imperceptible; however, it became salient and explicit once the Confucian classics were introduced to Tokugawa Japan. Many a Japanese Confucian took ideas and values expressed in the Chinese classics and transplanted them into the context of Japanese politics and thoughts, in light of which the Japanese scholars staked out new interpretations of the classics. This “contextual turn” involved issues of two levels: the material political order (especially the Chinese-barbarian distinction) and the abstract political thought (especially the ruler-subject relation). It is pointed out that the Chinese empire was the Japanese Confucians’ “political foreign country” and “cultural homeland,” and the tension was evidenced by their interpretations of the term “Zhong’guo” appearing in the Confucian classics. The usual strategy adopted by the Japanese Confucians in interpreting Chinese classics was to “de-contextualize” them and then to “re-contextualize” them in their own Japanese environment.     

Gender bias in estimating political expertise

The present study reveals that there is a gender bias in estimates of spouses' political expertise. Data were collected from married couples in one city in north-eastern Japan and the results showed that when all respondents were included, the estimation of spouses' political expertise was moderately accurate. However, while husbands' estimates of the political expertise of their wives were lowered and less accurate, wives' estimates of the political expertise of their husbands were more accurate. The implication of these findings for the political equality of males and females is discussed.