Event Report: Japan Conference: University of Toronto 2025
On 23-24 May 2025, the Centre for the Study of Global Japan (CSGJ) hosted the “Japan Conference: University of Toronto” at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. The two-day academic conference brought together scholars from institutions around the world to share their research about contemporary Japan. Topics ranged from domestic politics, social policy, international diplomacy, and the future of Japan Studies. This conference was co-organised by Phillip Lipscy, Director of CSGJ, and Jiajia Zhou, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto.
Day 1
The conference began with opening remarks delivered by Louis W. Pauly, J. Stefan Dupre Distinguished Professor of Political Economy at the University of Toronto, as well as Phillip Lipscy, Director of the CSGJ. Both emphasised the importance of advancing Japan-related research and expressed their enthusiasm in fostering stronger networks among scholars in the field.
The first panel of the day on diplomacy featured speakers Gabrielle Cheung (City University of Hong Kong) and Chen Zhong (University of Toronto). Cheung’s presentation, titled “Awards in International Diplomacy: Evidence from Japan”, researched the significance of awards as non-material instruments of diplomacy. Cheung’s paper leveraged Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun as a test case, examining why and how states choose to confer awards upon members of other states. Cheung received feedback from discussants Mark Manger (University of Toronto) and Alexandra Matheiu (Yale University), as well as other audience members.
Following this, Zhong gave her presentation on “Japan’s Climate Diplomacy in Inter-Governmental Summits”, focusing on the outputs of the Group of Twenty (G20) and East Asia Summit (EAS). Through a comparative analysis, her research assessed Japan’s sectoral climate commitments between 2015 and 2024, examining the overarching research question: Why do high-emitting countries have inconsistent climate commitments and what explains their variation? Discussants Akira Tokuhiro (Ontario Tech University) and Phillip Lipscy (University of Toronto) provided feedback on the paper.
After a short coffee break, the second panel commenced on the topic of regional security. Speakers included Ayumi Teraoka (Columbia University) and Benjamin Bartlett (Miami University in Ohio). Teraoka presented her research on China’s evolving approach to Japan since 2023 across various aspects of statecraft, including diplomacy, information, military affairs, and economics. Teraoka introduced the concept of “Levers in Reserve” to explain how China simultaneously uses both positive and negative pressure to build long term strategic leverage over Japan. The two discussants Gabrielle Cheung (City University of Hong Kong) and Charmaine Willis (Skidmore College) provided thoughtful commentary on the research.
Bartlett’s presentation examined Japan’s evolving foreign policy towards Southeast Asia under the Abe administration, using cybersecurity capacity-building assistance to assess broader strategic shifts. By analysing the recipients and content of cybersecurity aid, Dr. Bartlett’s research finds a pattern of continuity rather than drastic change. Discussants Ayumi Teraoka (Columbia University) and Dani Nedal (University of Toronto) shared feedback on the presentation, which was supplemented with a lively Q&A session.
The lunchtime session featured a special panel on the Future of Japan Studies, featuring Amy Catalinac (New York University), Steven Vogel (University of California, Berkeley), and Noriko Yamamoto (Japan Foundation, Toronto), with Phillip Lipscy (University of Toronto) as moderator. Lipscy opened the session with reflections on the current status of Japan Studies, observing that Japan remains relevant as a harbinger of major political and social developments that may become relevant for other countries with a lag. Catalinac offered practical advice for scholars, sharing insights on what makes a compelling journal submission based on her role as Associate Editor at the Journal of Politics. Vogel presented data from UC Berkeley, which highlighted the diminishing number of tenured faculty specialising in Japan and the growing challenges of pursuing a career focused solely on area studies. Yamamoto concluded with her insights as Executive Director of the Japan Foundation in Toronto, noting the challenges posed by a decline in funding for Japan-focused scholarship in recent years. Despite these challenges, the panelists emphasised the importance of ensuring the resilience of Japan Studies into the future.
The third panel was centred around public opinion, with speakers Charmaine Willis (Skidmore College) and Nicholas Alexander Rymal Fraser (Toronto Metropolitan University). Willis shared her research on U.S. military bases in Okinawa, investigating how forms of troop contact – such as base festivals and base-related employment – influence Japanese public opinion towards and proclivity to protest against the U.S. military. Her findings suggest that different forms of civilian-military contact and different understandings of the U.S. military presence have varied impacts on host nation public opinion and protest. Chen Zhong (University of Toronto) and Anna Woźny (Tokyo College & Princeton University) provided feedback on the paper, along with other conference participants.
Fraser’s presentation, titled “Deservingness Criteria and Public Support for Refugee Admission”, questioned how local populations assess which refugees are deserving of support using the case of Japan. Drawing on survey-based observational and experimental data, the study tested four key criteria: culpability, material impact, personal impact, and shared experience. The research finds that humanitarianism is a strong predictor for support for refugee admission, while shared experience had no discernible effect. Fraser received comments from Charles McClean (Yale University) and Anand Rao (State University of New York at Geneseo).
After another coffee break, the final panel of the day commenced on social policy and demographic change. Speakers included Anna Yorozuya (Yale University), Anna Woźny (Tokyo College & Princeton University), and Fumiya Uchikoshi (Harvard University). Yorozuya presented her research on tax decentralisation, specifically the Furusato Nouzei system in Japan, which enables taxpayers to reallocate a portion of their residence tax to any municipality in Japan. Using municipality-level data, her research assesses its impact on local government capacity, types of public goods provision and their efficiency. Steven Vogel (Berkeley) and Fumiya Uchikoshi (Harvard) provided their reflections on Yorozuya’s working paper.
Next, Woźny provided insights on marriage promotion policies which have attempted to respond to declining marriage rates and the demographic crisis in Japan. These include both private and public sector initiatives, such as konkatsu (“marriage hunting”) services and educational programs. Drawing on policy analysis, ethnographic observations, and interviews, Woźny finds that marriage promotion policies continue to foreground traditional gender norms as prerequisites of marriage, which may paradoxically discourage marriage. James Tiessen (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Ito Peng (University of Toronto) were the two discussants for this presentation.
Finally, Uchikoshi gave insights on the gender disparities of admissions to selective universities in Japan, highlighting how institutional structures contribute to academic “undermatch” among high-achieving female students. Using a unique dataset collected by a private testing company, the study finds that female applicants are significantly less likely than male counterparts to apply to “reach” schools. Uchikoshi received feedback from Nobuhisa Ishizuka (Columbia Law School) and Rie Kijima (University of Toronto) along with members of the conference. This concluded the first day of the Japan Conference.
Day 2
Day two of the conference began with its first panel on political narratives, featuring speakers Colin Moreshead (Yale University) and Igor Prusa (University of Vienna & Metropolitan University Prague). Moreshead’s presentation focused on political discourse and media in Japan, arguing that as traditional media becomes less partisan and more homogeneous, government critics flock to alternative sources prone to extremism and echo chamber effects. By comparing political narratives from news articles and tweets, Moreshead suggests that while hyper-polarisation of mass media may threaten democracy, a depolarised mass media can limit accountability and encourage online extremism. The discussants for this presentation were Igor Prusa and Kenichi Ariga (University of Toronto).
Prusa presented on the topic of political scandals in Japan, in which existing literature is divided on their long term impacts. On one hand, some scholars suggest that Japanese scandals can lead to meaningful reforms and effectively reduce corruption; meanwhile, others argue that scandals serve as dramatic media spectacles without lasting influence on political and social structures. Through an analysis of the LDP Slush Fund Controversy in 2023-24, including its timeline, historical context, and the role and actions of its key participants, Dr. Prusa discussed the pessimistic and optimistic outcomes from the scandal. Nicholas Fraser and Benjamin Bartlett provided feedback on the research along with members of the audience.
The final panel centred around political representation in Japan, with presentations by Daniel M. Smith (University of Pennsylvania) and Jiajia Zhou (University of Toronto). Smith gave insights on how gender and legacy connections shape the legislative focus of members of parliament (MPs) in Japan, using a keyword-assisted topic model applied to millions of speeches. His preliminary research suggests that speeches of female legacy MPs contain on average more particularistic content than those of male legacy MPs, and also more closely resemble the representational style of their kin predecessors. Discussants Anna Yorozuya and Jiajia Zhou gave commentary on the presentation.
Finally, Zhou’s presentation on “Resisting Populist Appeal: Local Trust and Representation” examined the theory of local party organisational strength as a form of resistance against populist appeals, using the case of Japan where populism appears to fail. Based on a survey experiment ahead of the 2024 Lower House Election, Zhou finds that while populist messages do influence candidate support, a weaker effect is found in prefectures where the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is organisationally extensive. In addition, the research suggests that organisational extensiveness and effectiveness in local functions of central parties diminish populist appeals, despite conditions that would otherwise increase susceptibility to populism. Zhou received feedback from the discussants, Dan Smith and Colin Moreshead, followed by an engaged Q&A with conference participants.
The Japan Conference: University of Toronto 2025 offered a rich and thought-provoking forum for Japan Studies scholars to examine emerging issues in politics, society, and international relations. Over two days of presentations and discussion, the event fostered unique cross-disciplinary dialogue among scholars from around the world. The next iteration of the conference will be hosted at Yale University in 2026. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all of the speakers, discussants, and attendees that joined us at the conference.
