What’s behind what ails Japan¹

This chapter argues that critical approaches to Japan should involve critical perspectives on our own expectations and preconceptions as researchers. In approaching Japanese social and political problems, we should consider the grounds on which we identify them as problems and propose solutions, which at least in some cases are based on moral and analytical judgments that, even if valid and justifiable, demand some reflection in order to sharpen and defend our arguments. The chapter focuses on debates about Japan’s responses to international norms to examine how we might negotiate these analytical challenges.