No description available.

No description available.

Though Article 9 has not been revised since it was implemented in 1947, the past two decades have seen an increase in Japanese military capability due to the government’s loose interpretation of Article 9 and its limitations to allow for Japanese involvement in collective security operations internationally. As a result, a number of Japanese political scholars and newspapers have projected the possibility of not only Japanese constitutional revision but also the re-militarization of Japan as well. Interested in finding out whether or not this projection has any likelihood of success in the future, I have posed the following question: Why has the constitution and the pacifism that it enshrines been so resistant to change despite a changing political context, and does the increase of Japanese public support for constitutional revision necessarily mean re-militarization for Japan? Taking a constructivist approach, I will argue that although pro-constitutional revision forces in Japan have tried to use fear politics and the revival of a Japanese “national spirit” to promote constitutional revision and ultimately re-militarization, the Japanese public has been relatively unreceptive to their ploy due to the integration of pacifism into the Japanese collective identity.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on the analysis of the proces of the creation and gradual transformation of japanese self-defense forces until the treshold of 21th century. Using few selected international relations theories and historical background, it explains the development of these forces, their growth and the issue concerning the existence, legitimity, geopolitical support and constitutionality. In the final part I am describing the public opinion influenced by the gradual changes of these forces. The result is a compact perspective, 60 years of existence of Japanese Self-Defence Forces, focused on their gradal change in time.

This piece tries to determine whether or not Japan’s movement towards rearmament is indicative of a renewed militaristic sentiment or driven by the necessity of improving its defense in view of mounting threats from its age-old enemy, China. The goal of this work is to create a framework using both international events and domestic responses in which to ascertain whether or not the reformation of Article 9 is, in of itself, a reemergence of pre-war bushido/nationalist sentiment or a response to both outside and inside influences necessitating the need for a “normalized” state. The work focuses on three distinct time periods – early 2000s, latter 2000s, and the 2010s – in which to highlight the initial development, progression, and foreseeable resolution to the Article 9 debate. These stages emphasize several elements persistent in Japan’s quest for a more normalized state, including: the hostile external environment created by the rise of foreign assertiveness, and internal domestic pressures (which to some extent are driven by external pressures) along with its own desire to seek a more normalized position in the international community as well as to gain an enhanced sense of national pride. Additionally a brief synopsis of both the foreign and domestic entities which have contributed to the Japanese reformation movement has been included for better foundational understanding of the question at hand. In general, results suggested that, though there is some merit towards a reemergence of pre-WWII nationalistic sentiment (especially in the case of the Net Uyoku), the reformation of Article 9 is primarily driven in response to growing tensions – both within East Asia as well as world-wide – as well as a need to assert some semblance of nationalistic identity (an area seriously lacking in Japanese society). Results further implicate that, though the process of reforming Article 9 and thereby revising Japan’s anti-war policy may not be immediate, movement within the Japanese state towards constitutional reformation is indeed on the rise – rearmament being the primary target of said reforms.

Japan is facing a reality in which the peaceful safeguards of Article 9 of the constitution has become an obstacle for the Government of Japan to ensure the safety and security of its people. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, major security policies have been implemented that have come to redefine the role of Japan within the international community. The aim of this thesis is to outline what policies were implemented by the Government of Japan, how these differed from the previous policies, and how they were received by the Japanese voters, to create an understanding of how Japan came closer to constitutional amendment through the two national elections in 2014 and 2016. The thesis presents the developments leading up to the two elections, as well as security and economic measures taken by the Japanese government. This is then followed with the use of the Copenhagen School´s Securitization theory, to analyze the events, measures taken, and the response from the Japanese voters. The Analysis concludes that the Japanese public have remained divided on the topic of constitutional amendment, but been in favor of the continuation of the Abenomics, the economic policies pursued by the Government of Japan, which has also been a major topic in the two elections.

Enterprises when transacting with each other, are not subjected to the same market forces as independent enterprises. From a Swedish perspective the applicable rule to transactions between associated enterprises is chap. 14 para. 19. Both the Swedish arm’s length rule and its international equivalence are abstract rules of law as they merely provides the legal ramification if associated enterprises interact in a manner that independent enterprises would not. The international equivalence to the Swedish arm’s length rule is not a separate rule of law per se it is the gateway by which the Swedish rule is made applicable in international situations, through the use of a double tax agreement, with the fundamental principle that a double tax agreement can only limit, never expand a countries right to tax. The OECD Guidelines governing the general aspects of transfer pricing states that the fundamental meaning of the Guidelines is to find ways of establishing a price used between associated enterprises that are similar to what independent enterprise would conclude. The first step towards finding such a price is though the comparability analyses were all the relevant characteristics of the transferred goods is analysed. The chapter in the Guidelines that governs business restructurings is meant to be applied alongside the general aspects of transfer pricing. The Guidelines proposed way of finding an appropriate price for the transaction of a branch of production with respect to profit potential is with special consideration to risks. The profit potential is irrevocably linked with the risks transferred since it is a presumption that with increased risk there is a potential for higher profits. Although the risks are the most important aspect there are other things to look at such as other options realistically available and benefits from concluding a business restructuring.

The purpose of the essay is to evaluate how the early years of the post-war political system laid the foundation for the amendment process. This turned out to be because of early adoption of a policy direction coupled with institutional memory let these decisions cement themselves as the de facto policy for Japan. Using path dependency by Paul Pierson the reasons for this could be analyzed using four analytical pointers that could explain the normative growth of certain ideas. History is not a straight line and the early decision making have long term effects implying that current day political discourse can have its roots decades back in time. Japans political group chose stability over national pride. Article 9 wasn’t amended because the people did not want to jeopardize their ticket to peace and prosperity. Japan chose economic recovery over military buildup and practiced a policy of non-aggression and sealed themselves off under the US security umbrella. Conservative politicians have hollowed out Article 9 by expanding the military over time. The original reasoning for upholding Article 9 no longer stand and the reasons for not amending it, while still prevalent, do not exist anymore.

Regulation 1/2003 empowers the European Commission to issue a decision, by which it makes commitments offered by the parties to the proceedings legally binding. Although being an alternative to the prohibition decision, it has become a predominant type of decision the Commission uses to tackle various antitrust issues, save from the area of secret cartels. This thesis primarily focuses on the effectiveness of commitment decisions, exploring various features contributing thereof. The first chapter outlines the main changes to the enforcement of EU competition law brought by Regulation 1/2003. The second chapter provides a necessary background for the subsequent analysis by introducing the legal framework for the adoption of commitment decision, followed by an explanation of the importance of effectiveness in public enforcement of EU competition law. The fourth chapter analyses effectiveness of the commitment procedure, which is narrowed down to the quickness of the procedure leading to the adoption of the final decision. The author observes that the procedure provides for more rapid resolution of cases, but it contains various drawback negatively affecting the quickness of the procedure. The fifth chapter is devoted to the enhanced effectiveness of commitments, mainly in comparison to remedies which...