Aki Tonami

University of Tsukuba · Division of Economics

Harassment on the Internet, particularly on social media such as Twitter, has reached a level where it can, without exaggeration, be characterised as a real-world societal problem in Japan. However, studies on this phenomenon in the Japanese language environment, especially adopting a victim-centric perspective, are rare. In this paper, we incorpor...

Harassment on the Internet, particularly on social media such as Twitter, has reached a level where it can, without exaggeration, be characterised as a real-world societal problem in Japan. However, studies on this phenomenon in the Japanese language environment, especially adopting a victim-centric perspective, are rare. In this paper, we incorpor...

Japan remains a developmental state where the state guides and oversees economic development, and the strong bureaucracy and businesses in turn complement each other in leading and shaping policies to achieve developmental goals. Japan retains the institutions deemed necessary to enhance the cooperative behaviour of the bureaucracy, businesses and...

How does a state that is not a ‘natural’ Arctic or Antarctic state perceive the polar regions, interpret their roles in its foreign policy and translate this into actual polar policy? This paper seeks to answer these questions by comparing the Arctic and Antarctic policies of Japan. The paper shows that Japan's national image of the polar regions a...

This book examines the growing interest by Asian states, which are normally considered as ‘outsiders’ in the Arctic governance system. Whilst existing research asserts that Asian states are mostly interested in the economic aspect of the changing Arctic, including its mineral and fossil sources and the opening up of new sea routes, the book argues...

Singapore regards itself as vulnerable to the external environment due to its size, geography, and ethnic diversity. Singapore perceives developments in the Arctic, particularly the emergence of the new sea route, could potentially threaten Singapore’s position as a maritime node and make Singapore a global irrelevance as with other historic mariti...

With a history of polar engagement, Japan takes a liberal position in the Arctic and tries to promote multilateral solutions. Japan’s official Arctic policy lists global environment, indigenous peoples, science and technology, the rule of law and international cooperation, sea routes, natural resources, and national security as areas of priority. T...

India tends to look at its Arctic engagement through an Antarctic lens, preferring to treat the Arctic as a global commons subject to an international legal regime similar to the Antarctic Treaty. India’s foreign policy towards the Arctic is backed by a pragmatic awareness of an intra-Asia competition against China, a sense of victimization under c...

Despite its recent entry into the Arctic arena, South Korea envisages itself as a future Polar leading nation with an official Arctic policy that aims to strengthen international cooperation, scientific research activities, and Arctic business. Supported by the chaebol big business groups, Korea openly expresses its interest in exploring commercial...

China entered the Arctic as part of its “omnidirectional diplomacy” from the late 1990s, branching out and going global, supported by rapid economic growth. As a “near-Arctic state,” China has a strong desire to understand the implications of a changing Arctic, due to its potentially beneficial or harmful effects. China regards itself as deserving...

This book examines the growing interest by Asian states, which are normally considered as ‘outsiders’ in the Arctic governance system. Whilst existing research asserts that Asian states are mostly interested in the economic aspect of the changing Arctic, including its mineral and fossil sources and the opening up of new sea routes, the book argues...

Environmental aid has become a major component of development aid. We analyzed the contingent characters of environmental aid of Japan and South Korea using the definition of Williams, which regards aid policy as donor driven and autobiographical of the donor agencies and societies from which they sprang. Both Japan and South Korea consider environ...

At the May 2013 Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, five Asian states, namely China, Japan, India, Singapore and South Korea, were accepted to become new Permanent Observers at the Arctic Council. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to the Asian states and their interest in the Arctic. Most discussions have focused on China and the assessme...

In May 2013 the Arctic states convened in Kiruna, Sweden, in part to decide on whether six new states should be admitted as observers to the Arctic Council. Japan’s application was accepted along with those of China, India, Italy, Singapore, and South Korea. At a glance, one might ask what credentials Japan has to be involved in the leading Arctic...

Environmental aid has become a major component of foreign aid, as environ-mental degradation and climate change have arisen as global concerns. Japan contends it has committed itself to the protection of the global environment since the 90s, and environmental aid has been an important part of that effort. South Korea has recently become an emerging...

This article examines the effect of development assistance programs on Local Agenda 21 (LA21) programs in three municipalities of Thailand. First, the article examines institutional changes in Thailand geared toward decentralization. Second, the article analyzes the effect based on the frameworks of Noda and Ouchi for the level of participation. Th...