Economics, Politics, Public Policy and Law in Japan, Australasia and the Pacific: Corporate Governance, Financial Crisis, and Consumer Product Safety in 2008

Abstract

This is an updated collection of my own postings on the new East Asia Forum blog. Created primarily by political economists from the Australian National University in mid-2008, the blog is attracting a wide readership and regular contributions from experts interested in or based throughout the rapidly evolving Asia-Pacific region. My starting point involves taking seriously Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's call, just before his visit to Japan around the same time, for a new East Asian Community.

Thematically, my postings focus mainly on FDI and corporate governance, financial markets and consumer credit regulation, product safety regulation, and different countries' media coverage of these and other issues in the region. Geographically, postings mainly examine developments affecting Japan. But this is done often expressly in connection with Australia, as well as other countries in the Asia-Pacific region (including China, India, New Zealand, and the United States), with links also to developments in the European Union (EU).

Chronologically, postings were originally from July-October 2008, a particularly tumultuous period, but the events often connect to longer-term developments. They can be read one after the other, and the original order has been preserved. I tried to sequence each posting to link back especially to the previous one, as well as other postings by myself or other contributors to the blog, while addressing hot topics of the times. The hope, very loosely inspired by how Ronald Dworkin views judge-made law emerging like a 'chain novel', is that readers can begin to see my own (and perhaps others') underlying empirical and normative views on some important 'gradual transformations' in Japan and beyond.

Keywords: Japanese law, Asian law, comparative law, regional architecture, political economy, foreign direct investment (FDI), corporate governance, financial markets regulation, product liability and safety regulation, consumer law and policy, arbitration

JEL Classification: K10, K30