Japan's Political Landscape

April will be election time in many towns, cities and prefectures in Japan. There will be sound trucks repeating the candidates’s names, thinly attended rallies at train stations entrances and boards going up in front of the local elementary school with posters of politicians displaying varying degrees of determination and friendliness. Michael Cucek will be joining us to help us make sense of all the ruckus – and explore some of the larger issues dividing Japan’s political classes: decreasing populations, relative decline in economic strength, an increased defense budget, marriage equality, and more.
 

To join use this link to register with Zoom

You will need the link and passcode provided in the confirmation email.

This event is a part of YCAPS' "Getting to Know Japan Series" co-sponsored by The United States-Japan Foundation (USJF).

Michael Cucek is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan Campus (1/2020 - Present). He is a fellow at Temple University Japan’s Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies (2014 - Present) and a senior advisor for consultancy Langley Esquire. Prior academic positions include Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Temple University, Japan Campus (9/2016-12/2019), Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Waseda University (10/2016-2/2020)and Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University (4/2015 - 8/2015). For 15 years he was Senior Research Analyst at Okamoto Associates, a strategic and business consulting firm to Japanese multinationals and government affiliated agencies (1/1995 - 6/2010). Before that he was a Research Associate at the Asahi National Broadcast Company (10/1992 - 9/1994). Professor Cucek's specializations include the history of China and Japan, Japanese politics, U.S. relations with Northeast and Southeast Asia, international politics and the history of racism.
 

Format: This event will be recorded and published in our web archive. Questions are encouraged during the live event.

Registration: Required Link
Moderators: Lucy Amaral

Webinar Cost: Free of charge

Co-sponsors: Japan Foundation, New York