Should Japan Revise its Postwar Constitution? Historical Origins and Security Options for the Future

Tuesday, March 4, 2008
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
(Pacific)
Philippines Conference Room
Speaker: 
  • Takamichi Tam Mito
Professor Mito will offer a critical analysis of the constitutional revision debate in contemporary Japan and its implications for Japan's foreign relations. He argues that the justification for constitutional revision is based on political myth rather than historical reality. It is strongly felt that a militarized Japan will not enhance its independence or its international prestige. Some fear that a new Japan will end up as part of the American defense mechanism supporting US hegemony and its global strategy. Mito argues that any constitutional revision and the resultant remilitarization can affect the balance of power in the international system beyond its national borders. His major objective is to critically assess the argument for constitutional revision and the implications of the current revision debate.

Takamichi Tam Mito is professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Japanese Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. A graduate of International Christian University (B.A.), he studied also at the Universities of Keele, Toronto, London, and Tsukuba (M.I.A. & Ph.D. in Law). Prior to his current appointment, he taught at the Universities of Cambridge, London, and Toronto and at Monash and Kyushu Universities. At Kyushu he was Foundation Professor of International Japanese Studies and Study Abroad Program. He also worked as a manager in the Department of Financial Engineering at Citicorp Investment Bank Ltd in London.

His major publications include: State Power and Multinational Oil Corporations: a Study of Market Intervention in Canada and Japan (Fukuoka: Kyushu University Press, 2001); The Political Economy of the Oil Market: A Comparative Study of Japan and Canada (Fukuoka: Kyushu University Press, in Japanese 2006); Sengo Nihon Seiji to Heiwa Gaiko (Postwar Japanese Politics and Peace Diplomacy) (Kyoto: Horitsubunkasha, 2007). His 2001 publication received an award by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Currently, he is completing six books on Japanese studies in the Asia-Pacific Region as a co-editor and contributor (forthcoming in 2008 and 2009) and also a book length study of the impact of government policy on the industrial growth, structure, and performance of the oil industry in modern Japan as a single author. He is the recipient of many research grants from various prestigious bodies including the governments of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan.

He has served for many professional and governmental bodies including Japan Agency for International Cooperation as a visiting professor of Japanese studies, Public Policy Studies Association in Japan, as the founding director; and the Japan Association of International Students' Education, as a founding vice president.