Makoto Usami – författare

Global justice has been one of the hottest issues among legal and political philosophers in the past several decades. David Miller, Professor of Political Theory at Oxford University, is without doubt one of the theorists who have been taking the lead in the debate on global justice. In the summer of 2011 he was invited to give the tenth Kobe Lecture, which was first established in 1988 in order to commemorate the Thirteenth IVR World Congress that had taken place in Kobe. As well as delivering his Kobe Lecture "e;Are Human Rights Conditional?"e; in Kyoto on 9 July 2011, Professor Miller conducted seminars in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. His Kobe Lecture, eleven comments on the lecture and his celebrated book National Responsibility and Global Justice, and his response to them are included in this volume. The title of the volume, Human Rights and Global Justice, represents our shared belief that guaranteeing basic human rights is an essential element of global justice. It is quite interesting to examine how the subject of his lecture, human rights, has come out of his intense study on global justice. What brought Miller to the examination of the conditionality and reciprocity of human rights in this lecture soon after criticising cosmopolitanism in his theory of global justice? What kind of reactions does his multifaceted theory of global justice and human rights cause in Japan? This volume gives the key to address these intriguing questions.

What does it mean for East to meet West in legal and political philosophy? This question is explored against the backdrop of a world where East and Southeast Asian societies challenge the boundaries of traditional liberal democracy. Daniel Bell promotes symbolic monarchy, which supposedly fosters social unity, stability, and ethical leadership without authoritarianism, proposing it as a model for China. Hirohide Takikawa discusses legitimacy in democratic and authoritarian regimes, arguing that non-democratic systems can have authority if they secure equal freedom. Beyond the two focal contributions, the volume brings together a range of perspectives on pressing themes including frontiers of legal theory, the role and reality of judges, the interface between law and science, cosmopolitanism and culture, and sexuality. By engaging both historical legacies and contemporary challenges, the essays collectively shed new light on how legal and political ideals are shaped, contested, and reimagined across cultures. This collection is an invitation to scholars and students interested in understanding a world where "e;East Meets West"e; is no longer a cliche but a call for renewed dialogue.

Although the expression “responsibility to future generations” is firmly established in public and political vocabulary, its operational meaning and practice are inadequately understood and yet to be systematically evaluated. Moreover, the term has not been successfully translated into viable ethical and theoretical concepts that can guide public policies and actions. How can the modes of governance and established policy priorities become compatible with the well-being of future generations? The primary objective of this book is to identify the conditions of and obstacles to governance for a sustainable future, or future-regarding governance. Governance concerns steering a society over extended periods of time, not responding to particular policy issues. The ideas and strategies proposed by contributors in this book to establish future-regarding governance are based on the theoretical and empirical analyses of the major long-term problems facing advanced democracies in general, and Japan in particular. Japan is an interesting case indeed. Relatively poor climate policy, rapidly decreasing birth rate, aging population, extensive public debt, prolonged economic recession, healthcare and pension systems that urgently require redesigning, hollowing-out of industries and subsequent loss of jobs, deteriorating infrastructures, increasing nuclear waste, and intensifying social polarization have caused a decline in people’s trust in the government and democratic processes. Currently, Japanese citizens are widely circulating their doubts about the social system’s sustainability. This book comprises two parts. In Part I, authors from various disciplinary backgrounds examine the idea of governance for a sustainable future from theoretical perspectives. This part discusses issues associated with future-regarding governance that are wicked in nature, such as the philosophical/ethical foundation on which to base the idea of governance for a sustainable future, major impediments to the development of future-regarding governance, and the modes of thinking and action required by leaders and citizens to realize such governance. Chapters in Part II largely focus on the state of long-term governance in Japan. This part uses empirical and in-depth analyses with cross-sectoral and cross-national policy perspectives to identify the state of future-regarding governance in various policy fields and major sectors or organizations mainly in Japan, while also examining strategies and measures to improve their performance. From this perspective, Western democracies and weak democratic regimes elsewhere will be provided with valuable lessons to avoid fatal policy mistakes, thereby improving future-oriented governance worldwide. By combining theoretical discussions on far-reaching issues and empirical analyses of Japanese cases, the book will shed a new light on governance for a sustainable future.

Although the expression “responsibility to future generations” is firmly established in public and political vocabulary, its operational meaning and practice are inadequately understood and yet to be systematically evaluated. Moreover, the term has not been successfully translated into viable ethical and theoretical concepts that can guide public policies and actions. How can the modes of governance and established policy priorities become compatible with the well-being of future generations? The primary objective of this book is to identify the conditions of and obstacles to governance for a sustainable future, or future-regarding governance. Governance concerns steering a society over extended periods of time, not responding to particular policy issues. The ideas and strategies proposed by contributors in this book to establish future-regarding governance are based on the theoretical and empirical analyses of the major long-term problems facing advanced democracies in general, and Japan in particular. Japan is an interesting case indeed. Relatively poor climate policy, rapidly decreasing birth rate, aging population, extensive public debt, prolonged economic recession, healthcare and pension systems that urgently require redesigning, hollowing-out of industries and subsequent loss of jobs, deteriorating infrastructures, increasing nuclear waste, and intensifying social polarization have caused a decline in people’s trust in the government and democratic processes. Currently, Japanese citizens are widely circulating their doubts about the social system’s sustainability. This book comprises two parts. In Part I, authors from various disciplinary backgrounds examine the idea of governance for a sustainable future from theoretical perspectives. This part discusses issues associated with future-regarding governance that are wicked in nature, such as the philosophical/ethical foundation on which to base the idea of governance for a sustainable future, major impediments to the development of future-regarding governance, and the modes of thinking and action required by leaders and citizens to realize such governance. Chapters in Part II largely focus on the state of long-term governance in Japan. This part uses empirical and in-depth analyses with cross-sectoral and cross-national policy perspectives to identify the state of future-regarding governance in various policy fields and major sectors or organizations mainly in Japan, while also examining strategies and measures to improve their performance. From this perspective, Western democracies and weak democratic regimes elsewhere will be provided with valuable lessons to avoid fatal policy mistakes, thereby improving future-oriented governance worldwide. By combining theoretical discussions on far-reaching issues and empirical analyses of Japanese cases, the book will shed a new light on governance for a sustainable future.