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Gender and Human Rights Politics in Japan
Global Norms and Domestic Networks
Jennifer Chan-Tiberghien (Author)
9780804750226
Hardback, published 28 July 2004
240 pages, 23 tables, 4 figures
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.454 kg
"This is an admirably constructed book. It is clear, concise, and forceful, with good evidence and examples that illustrate observations and arguments. It is also a book that challenges many of the conventional paradigms of the study of Japanese politics." - Perspectives on Politics "Gender and Human Rights Politics in Japan heightens our understanding of how the international human rights movement has affected women's and children's issues in Japan." - Journal of Japanese Studies "Chan-Tiberghien provides us with new insights into the workings of the Japanese state in the age of globalisation." - Asian Studies Review "The author speaks with the authority of her extensive documentation, personal participation in symposia, seminars, workshops, and other human rights activities, and interviews with Japanese participants." - CHOICE "[T]he major contribution of this book is its answer to a big question: How do some domestic groups, which are historically marginalized and have little power to mobilize large amounts of money or votes, gain political influence? The book's finding indicates that the key to understanding the rising influence of certain domestic groups is their connection to the global epistemic community."" - Yumiko Mikanagi (Social Science Japan Journal)
The main purpose of this book is to revisit prevailing conceptions of the Japanese state—which tend to focus on bureaucratic dominance, party politics, and interest groups—and argue that these institutions cannot explain the extensive legal and political changes concerning women's and children's human rights since the late 1990s. Instead, the author advances a constructivist approach to examine the impact of global human rights norms on Japan. This approach is exceptional in linking gender, children, and minority rights to Japanese norms. This book offers an up-to-date account of the changes since the 1990s. It also explores the issue of universalism versus cultural relativism within human rights and feminist debates. Instead of assuming that traditional Japanese culture is at odds with the individualistic and legalistic orientation of international human rights standards, the book discusses how Japanese civil society as well as state actors grapple with the rise of the individual, the new salience of law in resolving conflicts, the emergence of horizontal networks of cooperation, and the practice of "postnational citizenship."