10.00-12.00 h
Neoliberal Motherhood: Care and Work in the Japanese Welfare State
Miura Mari
Professor of Political Science, Sophia University, Tokyo

Women in general, and working mothers in particular, occupy a strategic position in Japan’s welfare capitalism. In order to generate economic growth amid the shrinking labor force, policy makers have recognized the importance of pushing women into the labor market. At the same time, the low birth rate has propelled them to pursue work-life balance policy as well as childcare policy. Recently, the “womenomics” discourse also penetrated growth strategy, which justifies positive action measures. Nevertheless, these seemingly working-women friendly polices have not yielded concrete results.

Mari Miura is Professor of Political Science at Faculty of Law at Sophia University in Tokyo. She has published widely on Japan’s political system including party politics and welfare policies. Among her recent publications is: Welfare Through Work. Conservative Ideas, Partisan Dynamics, and Social Protection in Japan (Cornell University Press, 2012).

16.00-18.00 h
Is Japan Shifting to the Right?
Nakano Koichi
Professor of Political Science, Sophia University, tokyo

There is much discussion today over whether Japan is shifting to the right. Particularly since Prime Minister Abe Shinzo returned to office in December 2012, controversies surrounding the so-called “history” issues, including the Yasukuni Shrine and the comfort women (sex slaves) problems, returned to the center stage of domestic politics as well as international affairs, and combined with the territorial disputes and concerns over security, aggravated the tensions in the Northeast Asian region.

Koichi Nakano is Professor of Political Science specialising in the comparative politics of advanced industrial democracies, and in political theory. His research has focused on a variety of issues of contemporary Japanese politics from comparative, historical, and philosophical perspectives, including neoliberal globalization and nationalism.