Climate change is the most pressing problem of our time and the transition towards a renewables-based economy is the only long-term solution. It is well established that offshore wind holds great...Show moreClimate change is the most pressing problem of our time and the transition towards a renewables-based economy is the only long-term solution. It is well established that offshore wind holds great promise in terms of providing energy capacity for East Asian nations that rely on the imports of fossil fuels. This study provides a comparative analysis of three East Asian nations to find what policies affect the successful deployment of offshore wind capacity. Several hypotheses, formed around influencing factors such as energy market liberalization, financial and quantitative incentive policies and siting procedures are formed and tested against offshore wind deployment data. The Most Similar Systems Designs method is employed to isolate the factors under examination and control for social, cultural, political, environmental and economic factors. The results provide insight into the effectiveness of policies across and within nations and reasons for the differences between nations.Show less
Ten years have passed since Japan’s triple disaster on March 11, 2011. The earthquake that occurred off the coast of eastern Japan triggered a powerful tsunami that in turn caused a nuclear...Show moreTen years have passed since Japan’s triple disaster on March 11, 2011. The earthquake that occurred off the coast of eastern Japan triggered a powerful tsunami that in turn caused a nuclear meltdown. As with the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe in 1995, most of the victims were elderly people. This paper articulates the causes of Japan’s elderly population’s vulnerability to (natural) hazards by examining to what extent neoliberalism aggravates the Japanese elderly’s disaster vulnerability by using the Disaster as a Social Vulnerability framework. The prevailing consensus in studies that utilize this approach is that neoliberalism and the most common developments associated with the neoliberal ideology, privatization, and decentralization4, harm people’s vulnerability. This paper shows that while processes associated with neoliberalism can exacerbate the Japanese elderly’s disaster vulnerability, as will be demonstrated by discussing the pension system, there is no evidence for the accuracy of this consensus regarding the healthcare system. Based on these insights, this paper concludes that the “neoliberalism aggravates disaster vulnerability”-consensus is too simplistic to consider the elderly population in Japan.Show less
In the last decade, Japan has seen a sharp increase in labour migrants and research shows these migrants don’t always integrate easily and are often the subject of discrimination. Research on...Show moreIn the last decade, Japan has seen a sharp increase in labour migrants and research shows these migrants don’t always integrate easily and are often the subject of discrimination. Research on migrants, however, has mostly focussed on either the barriers to integration on the work floor or on the policies of the government, without focus on integration. This thesis links these two important research bodies, by studying immigration policy in relation to integration on the work floor. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and a case study of the recent amendments of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition act, it studies the attention given to the topics of labour, national security and human security. Results show that even though the government its policies play a key role in integration, the act holds little attention to the social aspect of integration. This social aspect consists of preventing discrimination and creating mutual understanding between Japanese citizens and migrants. Analysis shows that even though more labour opportunities to enter Japan were created in the amendments in 2014 and in 2018, migrants taking those opportunities (HSM, Technical Intern Trainees, SSW and health & care workers) still have difficulty integrating in Japan.Show less
Although Guinea has great economic potential on paper due to its mineral resources and enormous water reserves, it has not yet been able to develop this potential and even lags behind other African...Show moreAlthough Guinea has great economic potential on paper due to its mineral resources and enormous water reserves, it has not yet been able to develop this potential and even lags behind other African countries with no or significantly fewer natural resources in terms of economic development. In examining the mechanisms behind the resource bauxite and operations in Guinea directly, several obstacles were discovered that are or may be responsible for Guinea's low profitability. Contrary to prevailing assumptions in the resource curse debate, Guinea's economic problems appear to depend not only on institutional quality, corruption, and economic mismanagement, but also on the unequal power relations of the Guinean government vis-à-vis foreign mining companies and powerful states. This thesis examines potential constraints for Guinea arising from the aluminum value chain, as well as those, arising directly from bauxite operations in Guinea. For this purpose, the operations of three major bauxite companies in Guinea were studied in detail: CBG (Compagnie des Bauxite des Guinée), headquartered in the USA, Great Britain and the Channel Islands as well as SMB, headquartered in China and CBK, headquartered in Russia. The mechanisms behind the aluminum value chain, bauxite mining, and its importance to Guinea were examined through a qualitative secondary analysis.Show less
This thesis examines the role of Keidanren, Japan’s largest business federation, in the formation of regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in the Asia-Pacific region. In doing so, this thesis...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of Keidanren, Japan’s largest business federation, in the formation of regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in the Asia-Pacific region. In doing so, this thesis specifically looks at the progress of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a recently concluded FTA. It determines whether and at which moments Keidanren influenced the Japanese government in making progress on the RCEP between 2013 and 2020. Following Keidanren’s resumption of making political donations in 2014, this research has found that on multiple occasions, the federation was able to influence the Japanese government during the RCEP negotiations. Therefore, Keidanren has regained its position as a powerful and influential business federation.Show less
Shinzo Abe is portrayed by literature to be someone who actively tries to curtail press freedom in Japan. This thesis posits that Abe's actions regarding press freedom in Japan do not constitute an...Show moreShinzo Abe is portrayed by literature to be someone who actively tries to curtail press freedom in Japan. This thesis posits that Abe's actions regarding press freedom in Japan do not constitute an attack on press freedom. It does so by reviewing the existing literature and considering whether the examples given by the literature ought to be considered as attacks. Afterwards, the thesis examines the modern day Japanese press through the lens of social responsibility-theory and concludes that the Japanese press system works in line with the expectations of the theory. As such, Japanese press freedom should be considered to be in working order.Show less
With the upcoming World Expo of 2025, the attention will be focused on Osaka once again. The first time Osaka held the World Expo was in 1970 and attracted a staggering number of visitors. Though...Show moreWith the upcoming World Expo of 2025, the attention will be focused on Osaka once again. The first time Osaka held the World Expo was in 1970 and attracted a staggering number of visitors. Though mega-events like the World Exposition are generally used as a tool for the host city to gain international exposure and boost the economy, whether the Expo of 1970 had the desired effect on the regional development of Osaka, has not yet been extensively studied. Therefore, this thesis will research and discuss to what extent the Osaka Expo of 1970 influenced Osaka’s economic and urban development. The research will be divided into four subsections (construction, tourism, economic restructuring and global status) and will primarily focus on relevant data provided by the Prefectural Government of Osaka.Show less
This thesis examines the relationship of neoliberal policies and growing inequality in the Japanese labour market after the bubble burst in early 1990’s. The purpose of this research is to...Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship of neoliberal policies and growing inequality in the Japanese labour market after the bubble burst in early 1990’s. The purpose of this research is to determine whether labour inequality levels have risen as a result of the neoliberal agendas that the government of Japan has adopted over the past few decades. The policies and the agendas of four Prime Ministers will be discussed: Yasuhiro Nakasone (pre-bubble burst), Ryutaro Hashimoto (post-bubble burst and during Asian crisis), Junichiro Koizumi (pre-financial crisis) and Shinzo Abe (post-financial crisis). This research demonstrates that certain aspects of labour inequality have been altered using process tracing in a multi-disciplinary approach consisting of both qualitative and qualitative sources to analyze the outcomes of these policy measures. The theoretical and empirical analysis showcase that, whilst the transformation of the Japanese economic model has not been linear, there is a gradual neoliberal progress in the labour sector reflected by the continuous deregulation schemes that the administrations have chosen to pursue. The Japanese labour institutions and, therefore, the Japanese social contract have been considerably transformed as part of the neoliberal reforms.Show less
South Korea is seen as a prime example of an innovative economy and has been listed as the most innovative economy for two years in a row by the Bloomberg innovation index. Although the growth of...Show moreSouth Korea is seen as a prime example of an innovative economy and has been listed as the most innovative economy for two years in a row by the Bloomberg innovation index. Although the growth of the South Korean innovative economy is exemplary, South Korea’s history of economic growth, in the innovative sector as well, has led to structural difficulties for a continued growth. This thesis will discuss how South Korea’s innovative economy came about under the National Innovation System. The argument will progress that, although the National Innovation System has driven South Korean innovative economic growth, South Korea would now profit from a Knowledge-Based Economy.Show less
This paper deals with the current rise of state-owned airlines, especially from the Middle East and China, which have been rapidly gaining market share at the expense of privately-owned airlines....Show moreThis paper deals with the current rise of state-owned airlines, especially from the Middle East and China, which have been rapidly gaining market share at the expense of privately-owned airlines. This development seems to go against the common perception of state-owned enterprises as being inefficient and not competitive due to state involvement compared to privatised enterprises. Therefore, this paper has examined the role of the state in two state-owned airlines, Emirates and China Southern Airlines, and tries to examine whether the state involvement in both airlines is similar to each other as both show higher passenger growth and profits than privatised airlines, even though they are state-owned. This research has shown that despite the success of Emirates and China Southern Airlines, both still show major differences in state involvement, especially in the extent to which both states are involved in the control and use of the airlines for larger economic purposes.Show less
This research has identified relevant financial reforms in Japan and its effects on vertical keiretsu networks. It utilized a literature review to investigate vertical keiretsu networks, financial...Show moreThis research has identified relevant financial reforms in Japan and its effects on vertical keiretsu networks. It utilized a literature review to investigate vertical keiretsu networks, financial deregulation, and keiretsu networks’ contemporary relevance. Moreover, it utilized three different case studies focused on 1) foreign direct investment, 2) changing corporate finance methods, and 3) vertical keiretsu networks. The results show that especially financial deregulations in the period ’96–’06 have affected Japan’s financial markets and vertical keiretsu networks. It demonstrated how the financial reforms have increased foreign direct investment and diminished the role of Japan’s banking industry. It demonstrated that successful vertical keiretsu networks such as Toyota and Honda continue to pursue strong buyer-supplier relationships in the form of cross-shareholding, while at the same time they adopted a market-based global sourcing strategy and utilized the international financial markets. Financial deregulation increased keiretsu networks’ foreign ownership ratios, affected their intra-network cross-shareholding, and led all ‘parent’ firms to adopt market-based purchasing strategies. Therefore, the research claims that financial deregulation forced vertical keiretsu networks to change their ways by ‘hybridizing’ their business model, and that the networks seem to continue to exist as a relevant form of industrial organization in Japan, despite its drastically changing economic landscape.Show less
