Preliminary study of post mortem identification using lip prints

Identification using lip prints was first performed in the 1950s and was the subject of much research in the 1960s and 70s, leading to the acceptance of this technique as evidence in the criminal justice system. Previous research has focused on identifying lip print types or on methods of obtaining hidden lip prints left at the crime scene. The present study aimed to clarify characteristics of lip prints from cadavers with various causes of death (including drowning and hanging) and to determine the effects of fixation on post mortem changes in lip impressions.     

The study of international relations in Japan: towards a more international discipline

We deploy Waever’s sociology of science approach in a criticalcomparison of the American and Japanese international relations academies.We argue that there are four great debates in the American academy, andfour traditions of scholarship in the Japanese academy. We describethese debates and traditions in some detail, and identify andexplain points of contact and difference between the two respectiveacademies. We conclude by making a general case for methodologicalpluralism and offer reasons why the Japanese international relationsacademy is keen to sponsor a journal which is, in the wordsof Waever, able to ‘draw on national traditions while keepingup with American developments’.     

New Japan–China Relations and the Corresponding Positioning of the United States—History,Values, Realism in a Changing World

After more than a decade of deterioration in the relations between Japan and China symbolized by the visit of then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Yasukuni Shrine, the relationship finally turned around in 2006–2007 into a qualitatively different one preparing for a new regional order. This was made possible mainly by the realistic perceptional change of the Japanese public on the regional security environment and the corresponding policy change of the Chinese Government on Japan-related histoty. The USA, as an essential stakeholder in Japan–China relations, also has to change itself in order to maintain its presence and interests in Asia and grasp a golden opportunity to build a more stable regional and international order given the drastic change in Japan–China relations which are still fragile due to structural problems. To this end, the USA needs to reevaluate and understand well the changing Japanese perception of history and of the severe security situation around Japan. Also, a Japan–USA–China trilateral partnership framework is now necessary to create a more stable Asian order by a USA initiative.     

Differentiated Citizenship and Ethnocultural Groups: A Japanese Case

It is a widely shared view that Japan is a culturally homogeneous country. This view is often deployed as justification for certain policy orientations to preserve cultural homogeneity. The goal of this article is to show that this line of thought is not acceptable on empirical and normative grounds. By considering two representative ethnocultural minorities—Ainu and Koreans—in terms of cultural, social, and political rights, I illustrate that there exists not only a plurality of ethnocultural groups in Japan with distinct claims to differentiated citizenship but also institutions and practices accommodating them. Moreover, a set of principles of differentiated citizenship underlying those institutions and practices are outlined. Finally, on the basis of the foregoing analysis, I argue that public policies attempt to preserve a cultural homogeneity that does not exist and such political aims as “enhancing social unity” are morally and prudentially undesirable.     

Measurement of Postmortem 1,5‐anhydroglucitol in Vitreous Humor for Forensic Diagnosis

In forensic diagnosis, postmortem blood glucose is known to be susceptible to change after death. However, the 1,5‐anhydroglucitol (1,5‐AG) concentrations in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reflect the mean blood glucose level for a short period of time. In this study, we compared the postmortem 1,5‐AG concentrations in vitreous humor and CSF in 47 subjects to evaluate the utility of this concentration in the vitreous humor for forensic diagnosis. The postmortem 1,5‐AG concentrations in vitreous humor (mean±SD: 20.2 ± 8.7 μg/mL) and CSF (16.8 ± 8.7 μg/mL) did not differ significantly and showed a strong correlation (r² = 0.87, p < 0.01). These results suggest that the vitreous humor 1,5‐AG concentration provides useful information on the antemortem blood glucose level, in addition to the HbA1c value and the CSF 1,5‐AG concentration.     

日本刑法中对责任能力的认定

在日本刑法中,责任能力的判断是法律判断。通说是将规范责任论具体化,以反对动机形成可能性、他行为可能性为基础的非难为基本内容来把握责任能力。行为人是否可能具有规范意识(辨认能力),是否可能控制自己的行为(控制能力),是进行责任能力判断的核心内容。因此,在司法实务中,当行为人基于精神障碍而犯罪时,需要对其辨认能力、控制能力...     

US-Japan Alliance: The Political Dimension

George W. Bush was inaugurated as the new president of the United States on 20 January 2001. How will the change in personnel influence Washington's approach to its relationship with East Asia and, in particular, with Japan? Takashi Oka, a Washington-based consultant to the Liberal Party of Japan who was for many years a correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor, considers this question in the following article. Oka argues that the strategic importance of the US-Japan alliance has not lessened with the end of the Cold War,and that in order to confront the security challenges of the twenty-first century, Japan's position within the US-Japan alliance needs to change from that of a protected subordinate to that of an equal partner. For this to be possible, a politician with sufficient vision and power, someone with a clear foreign policy, who is strong enough in domestic politics to carry out that policy, needs to emerge in Japan.     

Jobs Off the Farm: Wealth,Human Capital,and Social Group in Rural Eastern India

This study examines the effects of wealth, human capital, and social group on the occupational choice and income of farm households, to gain an understanding of the mechanism underlying the recently increasing income diversification in rural eastern India. The results show that wealth and human capital have a positive impact on the choice of high-return jobs, and low caste workers are more likely to work in casual, low-paying jobs, partly due to their dependence on personal networks in finding jobs. Notably, no clear evidence of association between social group and income is found.     

Japan and TPP/TPP-11: opening black box of domestic political alignment for proactive economic diplomacy in face of ‘Trump Shock’

Based on the neoclassical realism approach, this article aims to clarify factors conducive to Japan’s different roles in both participating in the trans-pacific partnership (TPP) and concluding the TPP-11 by focusing on how the US’s distinctive attitudes towards the TPP under the Obama and Trump administrations influenced Japan’s changing approaches. During the Obama administration, which needed Japan’s participation to expand the TPP in the face of China’s growing global and regional economic influence, Japan incorporated the TPP into its growth strategy and committed itself to sustaining US leadership during TPP negotiations by making necessary concessions on both the international and domestic fronts. By contrast, the Trump administration, with its strong propensity for bilateral deals to counter China’s bid for global economic hegemony with the TPP withdrawal urged Japan to change its reactive stance and take a proactive role in TPP-11 negotiations. This article opens a ‘black box’ of the political system under the second administration of Shinzo Abe, and demonstrates the strengthened function of the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Secretariat or Kantei within the centralised trade policy-making apparatus as key mechanisms contributing to a departure from the traditional features that occasionally hampered Japan’s foreign economic policy initiatives.