Stanford University

Governance

FSI's research on the origins, character and consequences of government institutions spans continents and academic disciplines. The institute’s senior fellows and their colleagues across Stanford examine the principles of public administration and implementation. Their work focuses on how maternal health care is delivered in rural China, how public action can create wealth and eliminate poverty, and why U.S. immigration reform keeps stalling. 

FSI’s work includes comparative studies of how institutions help resolve policy and societal issues. Scholars aim to clearly define and make sense of the rule of law, examining how it is invoked and applied around the world. 

FSI researchers also investigate government services – trying to understand and measure how they work, whom they serve and how good they are. They assess energy services aimed at helping the poorest people around the world and explore public opinion on torture policies. The Children in Crisis project addresses how child health interventions interact with political reform. Specific research on governance, organizations and security capitalizes on FSI's longstanding interests and looks at how governance and organizational issues affect a nation’s ability to address security and international cooperation.

Stanford Summer Juku 2014

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Stanford Summer Juku on Japanese Political Economy (SSJ-JPE)

August 11-14, 2014

Oksenberg Conference Room

Stanford Japan Program at Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center

The Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (S-APARC) at Stanford University started Stanford Summer Juku (SSJ) in 2014.  In SSJ, researchers on Japanese politics and Japanese economy get together and discuss their research in a relaxed setting. The second annual meeting is held at Stanford on August 11-14, 2014.  The first two days again focus on research in political science/political economy and international relations, and the latter two days focus on research in economics and business.

Takeo Hoshi, Kenji E. Kushida, Phillip Lipscy

 

Program

8/11/2013

8:30-9:00    Breakfast

9:00-10:15  Session I:

"Japan's Abandoned Partisans: Realignment after Electoral Reform", Kenneth McElwain (University of Michigan)

Discussants:
Daniel M. Smith (Harvard University)
Karen Jusko (Stanford University)
 

10:15-10:45  Break

10:45-12:00  Session II:

"Political Dynasties and the Selection of Cabinet Ministers: The Legacy Advantage in Japan and Ireland" Daniel M. Smith (Harvard University), Shane Martin (University of Leicester)

Discussants:
Gary Cox (Stanford University)
Kenneth McElwain (University of Michigan)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:15    Session III:

"Running the Right Race: The Impact of Electoral Rules on Celebrity Candidate Entry", Justin Reeves (University of California, San Diego)

Discussants:
Ikuo Kume (Waseda University)
Kenneth McElwain (University of Michigan)
 

2:15- 3:30   Session IV:

"Chasing the Median Voter: A Legislator Experiment on Support for Agricultural Protectionism", Megumi Naoi (University of California, San Diego)

Discussants:
Kenneth Scheve (Stanford University)
Kay Shimizu (Columbia University)

 

8/12/2013

8:30-9:00   Breakfast

9:00-10:15 Session I:

"Inside the Castle Gates: The Political Strategies of Foreign Multinational Corporations and Institutional Change in Japan", Kenji E. Kushida (Stanford University)

Discussants:
William Grimes (Boston University)
Masahiko Aoki (Stanford University)

10:15-10:45  Break

10:45-12:00  Session II:

"Institions and Central Bank Norm Diffusion: Abenomics and the Delayed Break with the Monetary Orthodoxy", Gene Park (Loyola Marymount University), Saori Katada (University of Southern California), and Giacomo Chiozza (Vanderbilt University)

Discussants:
William Grimes (Boston University)
Phillip Lipscy (Stanford University)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:15    Session III:

"Guns and Trades: How Realist Rhetoric Mobilizes Mass Support for Trade Agreements", Ikuo Kume (Waseda University)

Discussants:
Daniel M. Smith (Harvard University)
Steve Vogel (University of California, Berkeley)

2:15-3:30    Session IV:

"Japan Agriculture (JA) and the Institional Parameters of Local Agricultural Innovation", Patricia Maclachlan (University of Texas) and Kay Shimizu (Columbia University)

Discussants:
Megumi Naoi (University of California, San Diego)
Kenji E. Kushida (Stanford University)

 

6:30        Group Dinner

 

8/13/2013

8:30-9:00    Breakfast

9:00-10:15  Session I:

"The Impact of Japan on Western Management: Theory and Practice", Christina L. Ahmadjian (Hitotsubashi University) and Ulrike Schaede (University of California, San Diego)

Discussants:
Mariko Sakakibara (University of California, Los Angeles)
Robert Cole (University of California, Berkeley)

10:15-10:45  Break

10:45-12:00  Session II:

"Does Unconventional Monetary Policy Affect Inequality? Evidence from Japan", Ayako Saiki (De Nederlandsche Bank) and Jon Frost (De Nederlandsche Bank)

Discussants:
Helen Popper (Santa Clara University)
Brad DeLong (University of California, Berkeley)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:15    Session III:

"Do Risk Preferences Change? Evidence from Panel Data Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake", Chie Hanaoka(Kyoto Sangyo University), Hitoshi Shigeoka (Simon Fraser University), Yasutora Watanabe (Northwestern University)

Discussants:
Chiaki Moriguchi (Hitotsubashi University)
Takeo Hoshi (Stanford University)

2:15-3:30    Session IV:

"The Economics of Attribute-Based Regulation: Theory and Evidence from Fuel-Economy Standards", Koichiro Ito (Boston University) and James M. Sallee (University of Chicago)

Discussants:
Hiroyuki Kasahara (University of British Columbia)
Junjie Zhang (University of California, San Diego)

 

8/14/2013

8:30-9:00    Breakfast

9:00-10:15  Session I:

"Abenomics: Preliminary Analysis and Outlook", Joshua K. Hausman (University of Michigan) and Johannes F. Wieland (University of California, San Diego)

Discussants:
Michael Hutchison (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Takatoshi Ito (University of Tokyo)

10:15-10:45  Break

10:45-12:00  Session II:

"The Effect of Bank Recapitalization Policy on Corporate Investment: Evidence from a Banking Crisis in Japan", Hiroyuki Kasahara (University of British Columbia), Yasuyuki Sawada (University of Tokyo), and Michio Suzuki (University of Tokyo)

Discussants:
David Vera (Fresno State University)
Mark Spiegel (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:15    Session III:

"Lending to Unhealthy Firms in Japan during the Lost Decade: WTF", Suparna Chakraborty (University of San Francisco) and Joe Peek(Federal Reserve Board)

Discussants:
Ayako Yasuda (University of California, Davis)
Satoshi Koibuchi (Chuo University)

 

Stanford Summer Juku on Political Economy

Stanford Summer Juku 2013

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Stanford Summer Juku on Japanese Political Economy (SSJ-JPE)

August 19-22, 2013

Oksenberg Conference Room

Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University

The Japan Studies Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (S-APARC) at Stanford University is starting an exciting new program called Stanford Summer Juku (SSJ).  In SSJ, researchers on Japanese politics and Japanese economy get together and discuss their research in a relaxed setting.  In addition to presentation and discussion of research papers that is standard for any academic conference, SSJ is distinctive by setting aside ample time for informal discussions and interactions.  We believe you will find this an excellent opportunity to expand your network of researchers on Japan in both political science and economics.  We also hope that the interactions at SSJ will lead to some future collaboration among the participants.

Our inaugural meeting will be held at Stanford on August 19-22, 2013.  The first two days will focus on research in political science/political economy and international relations, and the latter two days will focus on research in business and economics. 

Finally, a little bit about the name of this program;  Juku here does not refer to modern Japanese cram schools.  What we have in mind is the private schools at the end of Edo period, which attracted young motivated students and ended up producing numerous leaders in the Meiji period.  Our goal is to attract many young researchers who will go on to become leaders in the studies of Japanese politics and Japanese economy in the near future.  We look forward to welcoming you to Stanford this summer.

Takeo Hoshi, Kenji E. Kushida, Phillip Lipscy

 

Report - Stanford Summer Juku 2013

 

Program

 

8/19/2013

8:30-9:00    Breakfast

9:00-9:15    Welcome: Gi-Wook Shin, (Director, Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University)

9:15-10:25  Session I:

"America's Role in Making Japan's Economic Miracle: New Evidence for a Landmark Case", Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College), Michael Beckley (Tufts University), and Jennifer M. Miller (Dartmouth College)

Discussants:
Amy Catalinac (Australian National University)
William Grimes (Boston University)
 

10:25-10:50  Break

10:50-12:00  Session II:

"The Electoral Politics of Energy", Phillip Lipscy (Stanford University)

Discussants:
Greg Noble (University of Tokyo)
Yusaku Horiuchi (Dartmouth College)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:10    Session III:

"Pork to Policy: The Rise of National Security in Elections in Japan", Amy Catalinac (Australian National University)

Discussants:
Saori Katada (University of Southern California)
Christiana Davis (Princeton University)

 

8/20/2013

8:30-9:15   Breakfast

9:15-10:25 Session I:

"The Politics of Commoditization in Information Communications Technology: Lessons from Japan's 'Galapagos' ICT Sector", Kenji E. Kushida (Stanford University)

Discussants:
Greg Noble (University of Tokyo)
Ulrike Schaede (University of California, San Diego)

10:25-10:50  Break

10:50-12:00  Session II:

"Private Money as Public Funds: Distributive Politics Under Austerity", Kay Shimizu (Columbia University)

Discussants:
Steve Vogel (University of California, Berkeley)
Jonathan Rodden (Stanford University)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:10    Session III:

"Asian Designs: Rising Powers and the Shaping of International Governance", Saadia Pekkanen (University of Washington)

Discussants:
William Grimes (Boston University)
Christina Davis (Princeotn University)

6:30        Group Dinner

 

8/21/2013

8:30-9:15    Breakfast

9:15-10:25  Session I:

"Trading Corporate Assets in Japan: An Event Study of Subsidiary Trades Among Listed Companies", Ulrike Schaede (University of California, San Diego) and Tatsuo Ushijima (Aoyama Gakuin University)

Discussants:
Robert Eberhart (Santa Clara University)
Ayako Yasuda (University of California, Davis)

10:25-10:50  Break

10:50-12:00  Session II:

"School Entry Cutoff Dates and the Timing of Births", Hitoshi Shigeoka (Simon Fraser University)

Discussants:
Karen Eggleston (Stanford University)
Toshiaki Iizuka (University of Tokyo)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:10    Session III:

"New Management at the Bank of Japan, End of the 'Independent' Bank of Japan and Implications for the Cencept of Central Bank Independence", Thomas F. Cargill (University of Nevada) and Jennifer Holt-Dwyer (Hunter College)

Discussants:
Helen Popper (Santa Clara University)
Ken Kuttner, (Williams College)

 

8/22/2013

8:30-9:15    Breakfast

9:15-10:25  Session I:

"Using Dynamic Electricity Pricing to Address Energy Crises: Evidence from Randomized Field Experiements", Koichiro Ito (Stanford University), Takanori Ida (Kyoto University), and Makoto Tanaka (GRIPS)

Discussants:
Masahiko Aoki (Stanford University)
Matthew Kahn (University of California, Los Angeles)

10:25-10:50  Break

10:50-12:00  Session II:

"Choice of Invoicing Currency: New evidence from a questionnaire survey of Japanese export firms", Satoshi Koibuchi (Chuo University), Takatoshi Ito (RIETI), Kiyotaka Sato (Yokohama National University), Junko Shimizu (Gakushuin University)

Discussants:
Katheryn Russ (University of California, Davis)
Mark Spiegel (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco)

12:00-1:00  Lunch

1:00-2:10    Session III:

"Banks restructuring sonata: How capital injection triggered labor force rejuvenation in Japanese banks", David Vera (California State University, Fresno), Kazuki Onji (Australian National University), Takeshi Osada (Bunri University of Hospitality)

Discussants:
Masami Imai (Wesleyan University)
Kelly Wang (Federal Reserve Board)

Stanford Summer Juku on Political Economy

Business Expansion from Japan into Silicon Valley, Opportunities and Challenges ~The Case of DeNA~

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The Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project
Public Forum Series with Networking

 

Abstract:

As Silicon Valley continues to be a global center of innovation, companies from all over the world expanding into Silicon Valley face a variety of opportunities and challenges, with a wide range of lessons learned for Japanese firms as they make use of the Silicon Valley ecosystem. DeNA provides an interesting case. Founded in 1999, achieved explosive growth through a series of different business models, with particular success in mobile games and especially with the “mobage” mobile social gaming platform. DeNA entered Silicon Valley in 2008 and expanded its operation through the acquisition of San Francisco-based  smartphone gaming company, ngmoco, for $300M in 2010. Mr. Dai Watanabe has been navigating DeNA's period of transition to build a strong business base in the West. Dai will talk about DeNA's effort in Silicon Valley and his experience.

 

Speaker:

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Mr. Dai Watanabe is VP of Strategy and Corporate Development since the acquisition of ngmoco. He has also served as President of DeNA Global, Inc. since its establishment in 2008 as the U.S. subsidiary of DeNA Co., Ltd.. Dai has been in charge of DeNA’s global expansion strategy and execution since 2005. Prior to his US assignment, he served as President of DeNA Beijing. Dai began his career in Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation right after graduation from Kyoto University with a bachelor degree in Archaeology.

 

 

 

Tuesday, February 17, 2015
5:00 – 5:30 pm Networking
5:30pm - 7:00pm Lecture
Cypress Semiconductor Auditorium (CISX Auditorium)

Public Welcome • Light Refreshments

The Silicon Valley - New Japan Project

Cypress Semiconductor Auditorium (CISX Auditorium)
Paul G. Allen Building, Stanford University
330 Serra Mall, Stanford CA 94305
**Entrance is the Serra Mall side of the building**
https://www.google.com/maps?q=CISX+Cypress+Semiconductor+Auditorium@37.4295793,-122.1748332

Dai Watanabe Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development, DeNA
Seminars

The third arrow of Abenomics

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In Nikkei Shimbun, Takeo Hoshi examines 2015 to enter the implementation stage for the Abenomics growth strategy.  The revised New Growth Strategy released last year has narrowed the “third arrow” to ten reforms.  Out of the ten, Hoshi suggests to focus on four key reforms: 1) Accelerating industrial restructuring and venture businesses, 2) Promotion of innovation, 3) Enhancing women's participation and advancement, 4) Attracting talent from overseas.

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abe Flickr: President of the European Council's Photostream
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Political Leadership in Japan: Long Way toward a Westminster Model

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just won another landslide victory from snap election last December. After two years of governance, his cabinet is still popular and powerful. There are high chances for him to accomplish tax reform and win the LDP presidential election this fall. The current political situation is often reported as “Prime Minister’s Office’s dominance” or “Abe dominates.” This Abe cabinet is becoming a sharp contrast to past six cabinets, including his own first cabinet. All six cabinets were short tenured, serving just for around a year, and prime ministers’ leadership were weak. Before these six prime minister, however, Junichiro Koizumi commanded strong power and leadership, succeeding in a series of reforms. Why do we witness two totally different outcomes of Japanese prime ministers’ power in the last decade?

In this presentation, Professor Takenaka gives an institutionalist explanation to this puzzle by examining the Japanese parliamentary system. To highlight its nature, he will make a brief comparison with the British system.

 

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Harukata Takenaka is a professor of political science at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo.  He specializes in comparative politics and international political economy, with a particular focus on Japanese political economy. His research interests include democracy in Japan, and Japan's political and economic stagnation since the 1990s. 

He received a B.A. from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University.  He is the author of Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan: Breakdown of a Hybrid Regime, (Stanford University Press, 2014), and Sangiin to ha [What is House of Councillors], (Chuokoron Shinsha, 2010).

Philippines Conference Room
Encina Hall, 3rd Floor, Central

 

Harukata Takenaka Professor, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Seminars
Japan Colloquium Series

"Wall Street Journal" reporter Jacob Schlesinger named 2014 Shorenstein award recipient

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Tokyo-based reporter Jacob Schlesinger will receive award for his journalistic work and achievements spanning three decades

Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is pleased to announce Wall Street Journal reporter Jacob Schlesinger as the 2014 recipient of the Shorenstein Journalism Award.

Schlesinger has been selected for his excellence in reporting on Japan’s economy, trade and politics, over a more than three-decade career in journalism. A Japan watcher since the late 1980s, Schlesinger incisively covered the nation at its economic height, the ‘boom’ period, through its ‘bust,’ as the financial system collapsed in the 1990s, and now, into an era that has seen signs of economic revival.

Commenting on the selection of Schlesinger for the award, Professor Daniel Okimoto, one of the leading American experts on Japanese political economy and a former director of Shorenstein APARC, said:

 “Through the years, followers of Japan have had the benefit of being kept informed by a succession of first-rate journalists based in Tokyo, such as Bill Emmott (The Economist), author of “The Sun Also Sets,” and Gillian Tett (Financial Times), author of “Saving the Sun.” No foreign journalist has covered Japan longer, or understood its political economy more deeply, than Jacob M. Schlesinger (Wall Street Journal), author of “Shadow Shoguns.”

The Shorenstein Journalism Award, launched in 2002, is given to journalists who are outstanding in their reporting on Asia, and who have contributed significantly to Western understanding of the region. The award was originally designed to honor distinguished American journalists for their work on Asia, but since 2011, Shorenstein APARC re-envisioned the award to encompass Asian journalists who pave the way for press freedom, and have aided in the growth of mutual understanding between Asia and the United States. The award alternates between Western and Asian journalists.

The most recent award recipients were Aung Zaw, the founder of Burmese publication the Irrawaddy, and a pioneer of press freedom in that country, and Barbara Demick, the Los Angeles Times correspondent in Beijing and the author of ground-breaking studies of life in North Korea.

Schlesinger has covered Japan for the Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade. He is currently the Senior Asia Economics Correspondent and Central Banks Editor – Asia for the Journal, based in Tokyo. He came first to Japan as a reporter in the late 1980s, covering tech, trade and politics, and then reporting on Japan’s stock market crash and financial crisis, and the fallout that carried on through the mid-1990s, a period known as “the lost decade.”

Schlesinger then worked for 13 years in the Journal’s bureau in Washington DC, covering politics and the U.S. economy. He was part of the Journal’s team that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for the “What’s Wrong” series about the causes and consequences of the late-1990s financial bubble.

Schlesinger returned to Japan as the Japan editor/Tokyo bureau chief in 2009, overseeing the coverage of the historic transfer of power to the Democratic Party of Japan, and the triple disaster of the massive earthquake of March 2011 and the tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster that resulted. He has since closely followed the return to power of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, and its leader Shinzo Abe, and his administration’s economic stimulus policy, known as ‘Abenomics,’ as well as growing tensions within the region.

Schlesinger is the author of the book, “Shadow Shoguns: The Rise and Fall of Japan’s Postwar Political Machine,” widely recognized as one of the most important works on Japan’s politicians, parties and the dramatic changes in its political order. Published in 1997, the book was hailed by Foreign Affairs as “a fascinating and penetrating tale.” He wrote the book while a visiting fellow at Shorenstein APARC.

Schlesinger will receive the award at a special ceremony at Stanford’s Bechtel Conference Center on March 9. He will also lead a panel discussion earlier that day examining the coverage of Japan’s economy, from boom to bust and back again, with Susan Chira, a former Tokyo correspondent and now deputy executive editor of The New York Times and Professor Takeo Hoshi, a prominent economist and director of Stanford’s Japan Program.

Please click here for the full press release.

Contact: Lisa Griswold, communications coordinator at Shorenstein APARC, with any questions about the award or the March 9 events.

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Wall Street Journal's Jacob Schlesinger (at Left) interviews World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at the 2012 Tokyo Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Wall Street Journal's Jacob Schlesinger (at Left) interviews World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at the 2012 Tokyo Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
World Bank/Ryan Rayburn
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The Japanese Software Industry: What Went Wrong (and Why is it Important?)

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The Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project
Public Forum Series with Networking
 

Speaker: Robert Cole (Bio)

cole robert ashx

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
5:00 – 5:30 pm Networking
5:30pm - 7:00pm Lecture
Cypress Semiconductor Auditorium (CISX Auditorium)

Public Welcome • Light Refreshments

The Silicon Valley - New Japan Project

 

 

Cypress Semiconductor Auditorium (CISX Auditorium)
Paul G. Allen Building, Stanford University
330 Serra Mall, Stanford CA 94305
https://www.google.com/maps?q=CISX+Cypress+Semiconductor+Auditorium@37.4295793,-122.1748332

Robert Cole Professor Emeritus, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
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Sneider on Japan’s election results

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved Japan’s lower house of parliament in November, and held an early election on December 14. The vote kept the status quo – the ruling Liberal Democratic Party retained its majority in the Diet, winning two-thirds of the seats.

In a Dispatch Japan Q&A, Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, discusses the election results and weighs the outcomes for the Abe administration.

“For Abe, this election was all about power, and retaining power.

“With this victory, Abe should have staved off any serious challengers, barring external events that dramatically change the perception of his government.”

Sneider said the question remains what Abe will choose to do with his ‘somewhat rebuilt’ political clout.

The full article is available on the Dispatch Japan blog, and in Toyo Keizai, a Tokyo-based economics/politics publication, in Japanese and English.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Japan after the Abenomics Election

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Abstract

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a general election for the lower house of Japan's parliament on December 14, following the decision to postpone a consumption tax hike that was originally scheduled for October 1, 2015, as the economic condition continued to deteriorate following an earlier consumption tax hike. The opposition declared a failure of Abenomics (the comprehensive economic policy package aimed to fight deflation and restore growth in Japan's economy). The Abe administration countered this claim by declaring Abenomics is on the right track and "the only way" forward for the future of Japan. The result was a victory for the Abe administration.  Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the coalition partner Komeito retained the two-thirds majority of the Lower House.  In his commentary to Project Syndicate, Abe declared “With the powerful mandate of the Japanese people, demonstrated by their overwhelming vote of support in our country’s December 14 election, my government’s ability to act decisively has been strengthened immeasurably. Indeed, we now not only have the authority to act, but a clear and definitive message from the electorate that we must do so.”  Experts in the Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center will discuss the Japan's economic and foreign policies after the election.

Speaker Bios

Takeo Hoshi - Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Senior Fellow in Japanese Studies at FSI; Professor, by courtesy, of Finance, Graduate School of Business and Director, Japan Program, Shorenstein APARC at Stanford University

Phillip Lipscy - The Thomas Rohlen Center Fellow, Japan Program, Shorenstein APARC and Assistant Professor of Political Science, Stanford University

Yukio Okamoto - Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow, MIT and former Special Advisor to two Prime Ministers of Japan

Ryo Sahashi - Visiting Associate Professor, Shorenstein APARC at Stanford University and Associate Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Law at Kanagawa University

Japan after the Abenomics Election
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Philippines Conference Room
Encina Hall
616 Serra St, 3rd floor
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
 

Takeo Hoshi

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Former Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Senior Fellow in Japanese Studies at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Former Professor, by courtesy, of Finance at the Graduate School of Business
takeo_hoshi_2018.jpg PhD

Takeo Hoshi was Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Professor of Finance (by courtesy) at the Graduate School of Business, and Director of the Japan Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), all at Stanford University. He served in these roles until August 2019.

Before he joined Stanford in 2012, he was Pacific Economic Cooperation Professor in International Economic Relations at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he conducted research and taught since 1988.

Hoshi is also Visiting Scholar at Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and at the Tokyo Center for Economic Research (TCER), and Senior Fellow at the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER). His main research interest includes corporate finance, banking, monetary policy and the Japanese economy.

He received 2015 Japanese Bankers Academic Research Promotion Foundation Award, 2011 Reischauer International Education Award of Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana, 2006 Enjoji Jiro Memorial Prize of Nihon Keizai Shimbun-sha, and 2005 Japan Economic Association-Nakahara Prize.  His book titled Corporate Financing and Governance in Japan: The Road to the Future (MIT Press, 2001) co-authored with Anil Kashyap (Booth School of Business, University of Chicago) received the Nikkei Award for the Best Economics Books in 2002.  Other publications include “Will the U.S. and Europe Avoid a Lost Decade?  Lessons from Japan’s Post Crisis Experience” (Joint with Anil K Kashyap), IMF Economic Review, 2015, “Japan’s Financial Regulatory Responses to the Global Financial Crisis” (Joint with Kimie Harada, Masami Imai, Satoshi Koibuchi, and Ayako Yasuda), Journal of Financial Economic Policy, 2015, “Defying Gravity: Can Japanese sovereign debt continue to increase without a crisis?” (Joint with Takatoshi Ito) Economic Policy, 2014, “Will the U.S. Bank Recapitalization Succeed? Eight Lessons from Japan” (with Anil Kashyap), Journal of Financial Economics, 2010, and “Zombie Lending and Depressed Restructuring in Japan” (Joint with Ricardo Caballero and Anil Kashyap), American Economic Review, December 2008.

Hoshi received his B.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Tokyo in 1983, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988.

Former Director of the Japan Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
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Phillip Lipscy

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Former Thomas Rohlen Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Former Assistant Professor of Political Science
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Phillip Y. Lipscy was the Thomas Rohlen Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stanford University until August 2019. His fields of research include international and comparative political economy, international security, and the politics of East Asia, particularly Japan.

Lipscy’s book from Cambridge University Press, Renegotiating the World Order: Institutional Change in International Relations, examines how countries seek greater international influence by reforming or creating international organizations. His research addresses a wide range of substantive topics such as international cooperation, the politics of energy, the politics of financial crises, the use of secrecy in international policy making, and the effect of domestic politics on trade. He has also published extensively on Japanese politics and foreign policy.

Lipscy obtained his PhD in political science at Harvard University. He received his MA in international policy studies and BA in economics and political science at Stanford University. Lipscy has been affiliated with the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo, the Institute for Global and International Studies at George Washington University, the RAND Corporation, and the Institute for International Policy Studies.

For additional information such as C.V., publications, and working papers, please visit Phillip Lipscy's homepage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yukio Okamoto

Ryo Sahashi

Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center
Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Encina Hall, Rm. E313
616 Serra Street
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

(650) 725-5781
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Visiting Associate Professor
ryo_sahashi.jpg PhD

Ryo Sahashi is a visiting associate professor of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) from April 2014 to March 2015. He joins APARC from Kanagawa University, where he concurrently serves as an associate professor of international politics. He will be writing a book on U.S. strategy toward China, Taiwan, and Northeast Asia since the Cold War.

Sahashi is a specialist on the regional security architecture in East Asia and Japan’s international relations. His articles are published in Chinese, English, and Japanese, including “Security Arrangements in the Asia-Pacific: a Three-Tier Approach,” William T. Tow and Rikki Kerstain (eds.); Bilateral Perspectives on Regional Security: Australia, Japan and the Asia-Pacific Region, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012, pp.214-240; “Security Partnership in Japanese Asia Strategy: Creating Order, Building Capacity, and Sharing Burden,” ifri Policy Papers, February 2013; “The rise of China and the transformation of Asia-Pacific security architecture,” William T. Tow and Brendan Taylor (eds.); Contending Cooperation: Bilateralism, Multilateralism, and Asia-Pacific Security, London and New York: Routledge, 2013, pp.135-156. His newest articles on Japan-Taiwan relations and on Japan’s foreign policy since DPJ era (2009-) will soon be available.

He also serves as Research Fellow at Japan Center for International Exchange. In the past, he was the visiting researcher at the Japanese House of Councilors and German Fund of the United States. His early academic career as faculty started with the University of Tokyo and Australian National University.

He is an active commentator and contributor to international media, including NHK (Asian Voice & Newsline), CCTV, APF, Newsweek, Defense News, Stars and Stripes, Global Times, China Dairy, Asia Pacific Bulletin, and East Asia Forum.

Sahashi is a graduate from International Christian University, spending junior year at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and earned his LL.M. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo.

Panel Discussions
Japan Colloquium Series

Too early to judge Japan's economic strategy, Stanford economist says

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Though some signs point to Japan falling into recession, Stanford economist Takeo Hoshi disagrees and says it is premature to judge the effectiveness of Japan's new approach to its economy. Not enough time has passed for the reforms to produce results.

Despite a recent slowdown, time will tell if Japan has charted the right economic course after more than 15 years of deflation, says a Stanford economist.

The Stanford News Service recently interviewed economics professor Takeo Hoshi of Stanford's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center about Japan's economy – the third largest in the world.

In the last two years, Japan undertook a new economic direction in adopting fiscal reforms known as "Abenomics," which refers to its principal advocate, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Abenomics consists of monetary policy, fiscal policy and economic growth strategies to encourage private investment. But new data suggest that Japan may have fallen into a recession, which adds to worries about the slowing global economy.

Is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s "Abenomics" working?

It is too early to tell. Abenomics is not failing – yet. It has three pillars or "arrows," as they are often called. The first arrow – monetary expansion – has succeeded. Japan is out of deflation, which had lasted more than 15 years. The inflation rate has not reached the target rate of 2 percent and is recently falling a little bit, but it is away from zero. The postponement of the consumption tax increase that was announced last week was a step back on the efforts to reduce the budget deficits, which is considered to be a part of the second arrow (flexible fiscal policy). However, some people in the government have started to argue that fiscal consolidation has never been a part of the second arrow. 

According to Abe, the government will implement a consumption tax rate hike in April 2017 – it will rise from 8 percent to 10 percent. This time, the law will not include an escape clause, which made the earlier one contingent on economic conditions. It was also announced that the government will develop a real plan to achieve a fiscal surplus by a certain date. These efforts may lead to a credible plan to reach fiscal sustainability. So, it is too early to say if this second arrow of Abenomics has failed.

The third arrow is the growth strategy. The original strategy announced in June 2013 lacked focus, but the revised version enacted in June 2014 offers 10 focus areas, some of which are quite sensible. The government has just begun on some of these economic reforms. It is way too early to tell if these efforts to restore growth in Japan will prove fruitful.

Will the Japanese recession have painful implications for the United States?

I would not say Japan is in recession now. Many people say that Japan is in recession because the first preliminary estimate of the third quarter real GDP growth came out negative. With the negative growth in the second quarter, Japan's economic condition satisfies a standard definition of recession (two consecutive quarters of negative growth). But the negative growth in the second quarter was inevitable because the demand was shifted from the second quarter to the first quarter in anticipation of the consumption tax hike on April 1. People shifted the timing of durable consumption goods purchase from the second quarter to the first quarter. So, the "true" negative growth has been observed only for a quarter. 

Even the negative growth in the third quarter may not really signal a serious trouble. First, the negative growth disappears if we exclude the change in inventory. In other words, the production was down from the second quarter but the demand – or sales – did not fall. Also, many people expect the second preliminary estimate for third quarter growth that will be published on Dec. 8 will be revised higher. 

Will this hurt the global economy?

If Japan was in recession, that would hurt the rest of the world, especially when the economies in Europe are weak and China is slowing down. But I don't think Japan is in recession – yet.

What would have been a better strategy than "Abenomics?"

Abenomics has been better than any other alternatives that have been tried in Japan. The Bank of Japan finally stopped its deflationary policy. Abenomics also showed some early promise in economic reforms, which were tried before only in piecemeal ways.

Assuming the Liberal Democratic Party retains power and Prime Minister Abe returns as the prime minister after the next election – which seems to be a safe assumption – the government will continue Abenomics with a renewed commitment to fiscal reform and growth, I hope.

What is the lesson for countries around the world?

Many people have prematurely declared the "failure" of Abenomics. I don't think their assessment is correct, but the government could have done better by implementing some easier economic reforms in the beginning – and calling attention to its early successes. This could have included, for example, reducing the barriers to start new businesses.

Clifton Parker is a writer for the Stanford News Service.

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