Globalization of Japan: Japanese Sakoku Mentality and U.S. Efforts to Open Japan - Softcover

Mayumi Itoh

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312235054 ISBN 13: 9780312235055

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000

Synopsis

In The Globalization of Japan, Mayumi Itoh examines the various aspects of Japan’s resistance to internationalization. She shows how the opening up of Japan involves not only the accessibility of Japanese markets to foreign goods, but also the liberalization of the Japanese psyche from the sakoku (secluded nation) mentality. Itoh unearths the roots of the sakoku mentality and reveals it as the fundamental impediment to Japan’s internationalization, examining various Japanese sakoku policies. She also analyzes the three open-door policies that Japan has undertaken in the past and demonstrates how the United States played a crucial role in each one. The conclusion is a thorough assessment of prospects for Japan’s internationalization in the 21st century.

About this title

About the Author

Mayumi Itoh is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas..

From Booklist

Sakoku literally means "secluded nation" in Japanese, and the term usually is applied to Japanese attitudes of parochialism and exclusiveness. The "sakoku mentality" is frequently invoked to rationalize resistance to eliminating trade barriers and to explain Japanese attitudes toward foreigners. Itoh, who is an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, takes an in-depth look at the effect of sakoku on attempts to internationalize Japan. She puts sakoku in historical perspective and analyzes recent, well-publicized opinion polls that measured Japanese attitudes toward the U.S. and other parts of the world. Itoh then considers sakoku's role in Japanese immigration and foreign labor policies, the status of Okinawa, the liberalization of Japan's rice market, attitudes toward Japan's constitution that was imposed during the U.S. occupation, and Japan's participation in the UN and in peacekeeping operations. David Rouse

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312235054
• ISBN 13: 9780312235055
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240