Against the State or International Trade in East Asia

Against the State: Politics and Social Protest in Japan

Author: David Ernest Apter

Reconstructing the dramatic struggle surrounding the building of the New Tokyo (Narita) International Airport near Sanrizuka, this scrutiny of modern protest politics dispels the myth of corporate Japan's unassailable success. While sensitive to the specific events they describe, the authors provide analyses of broader contemporary issues-the sources of violence in an orderly society and the problems of democratic theory in an institutional setting.

Narita Airport, the largest single government project in Japan, has been the scene of intense conflict over what might be called the unfinished business of Japan as number one. Since 1965, small groups of farmers have been fighting to protect their land, first from the bulldozers, then from the environmental damage of a modern airport. They were joined in the battle by militants from New Left sects, students, and other protesters representing peace, antinuclear, and antipollution issues. Using field observation, in-depth interviewing, and first-hand experience drawn from living in the "fortresses" surrounding the airport, the authors examine the conflict and violence that ensued. They describe the confrontations from the point of view of each group of participants, pinpointing weaknesses in the Japanese political and bureaucratic systems that prolonged and heightened the struggle: the lack of effective
due process, inadequate consultative mechanisms outside elite circles, and the failure of local government to represent local issues.

In a broad adaptation of their findings, Apter and Sawa show that the problems of the Narita situation are also endemic to other industrialized countries. Their discussion ofviolent protest in advanced societies explores how it evolves, who is caught up in it, and the ways that governments respond. Finally, they identify the limitations of contemporary social science theories in addressing in human terms such volcanic eruptions. To overcome these shortcomings they combine several approaches—structural, experiential, and functional—and devise alternative ways to enter the day-today lives of the people studied.

Against the State in no way diminishes the magnitude of Japan's accomplishments. However, the authors find in the Narita protest evidence of that country's still unfelt need to address its most abstract and pressing moral concerns. Their book raises important questions about the nature of extra-institutional protest and authority in modern states.

Book about: The Herb Garden Cookbook or Always in Season

International Trade in East Asia

Author: Takatoshi Ito

The practice of trading across international borders has undergone a series of changes with great consequences for the world trading community, the result of new trade agreements, a number of financial crises, the emergence of the World Trade Organization, and countless other less obvious developments. In International Trade in East Asia, a group of esteemed contributors provides a summary of empirical factors of international trade specifically as they pertain to East Asian countries such as China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Comprised of twelve fascinating studies, International Trade in East Asia highlights many of the trading practices between countries within the region as well as outside of it. While many praise the region's sophisticated production and distribution networks, the contributors here bring into focus some of the region's internal and external barriers to international trade and discuss strategies for improving productivity and fostering trade relationships. Studies on some of the factors that drive exports, the influence of research and development, the effects of foreign investment, the World Trade Organization's new dispute settlement system, and the ramifications of different types of protectionism will particularly resonate with the financial and economic communities that are trying to keep pace with this dramatically altered landscape.

Table of Contents:

	Introduction	1
1	Physical and human capital deepening and new trade patterns in Japan	7
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2	Exporting and performance of plants : evidence from Korean manufacturing	53
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3	International R&D deployment and locational advantage : a case study of Taiwan	81
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4	The effects of overseas investment on domestic employment	109
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5	The trade and investment effects of preferential trading arrangements	133
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6	The formation of international production and distribution networks in East Asia	177
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7	The impacts of an East Asia free trade agreement on foreign trade in East Asia	217
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8	The effects of financial crises on international trade	253
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9	WTO dispute settlements in East Asia	287
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10	The growing problem of antidumping protection	329
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11	Tight clothing : how the MFA affects Asian apparel exports	367
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12	Border delays and trade liberalization	391
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