Formation of Rajapaksa Family Politics in Sri Lanka

Published in March 2025

In Sri Lanka, political decision-making power was monopolized by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who became president in 2005, and his family, leading to assessments that Sri Lankan democracy was on the brink of collapse. Although the Rajapaksa family temporarily lost power due to electoral defeat, explicit family rule persisted until forced resignations following anti-government protests in 2022.
This book focuses on this distinctive political structure and its development, offering a multifaceted analysis to deepen the understanding of Sri Lankan politics. It examines the processes through which the Rajapaksa family consolidated power, the political environment surrounding the regime, and the constitutional amendments enacted to strengthen their authority. The book further analyzes the role played by Sinhala nationalism in facilitating the family’s rise, the changing political consciousness of rural Sinhalese voters who significantly influenced election outcomes, the unique features of fiscal management under the Rajapaksa administration, and the detailed dynamics of Sri Lanka’s relationship with China during the Rajapaksa family’s rule.

Understanding Contemporary Latin American Politics

Published in March 2025

This is an advanced textbook on contemporary Latin American politics mainly for third and fourth year university students and master’s students. This book focuses on more specialized discussion than the basic concepts and history of Latin American politics, as those are covered in other materials in Japanese. It specifically deals with 21st century political topics, primarily in the 2010s onward, and analyzes the new political challenges brought about by the shift in social and public attitudes as a result of the economic rise and fall of the commodity boom and the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is organized into eight themes: the state as a prerequisite of each country’s politics; the military, which is once again increasing its influence; the judiciary, which plays a crucial role in healthy democracies; and presidential-legislative relations, which affect the quality and stability of a democracy. Voting behavior, in which people express their opinions; electoral systems, through which people’s opinions are reflected to the composition of legislatures; political parties, which give people political alternatives; and the potential new role of protest movements in representative democracy are also discussed, providing perspectives to help understand contemporary Latin American politics from multiple angles.

"One Health" in Asia: Risks and Governance for the Health of Humans, Animals, and the Environment

Published in February 2025

This book is a multifaceted examination of "One Health," which is an integrated approach to the health of humans, animals, and the environment, with a focus on Asia, a hotspot for emerging infectious diseases. To prevent pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to take economic, social, and governance measures such as investing in natural capital and promoting cooperation among diverse stakeholders, and there is a need for social science research to achieve this. This book focuses on forest conservation, the meat production system, wildlife habitats and neighboring communities, national regulations pertaining to the use of wild and domestic animals, and the international wildlife trade, and discusses the risks inherent in the relationships among humans, animals, and the environment as well as the nature of the governance required to understand the health of these relationships comprehensively. As a reference book for understanding the present situation and challenges of the One Health approach in Asia, we hope that this book will be read not only by related researchers but also by a wide range of students, policymakers, entrepreneurs, citizen activists, and others, who transcend existing fields and domains.

"New Labor Movements" in Asian Economies: South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka

Published in January 2025

This book is a comparative study of labor movements in six Asian economies: South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Labor movements in Asia are diverse, and previous books have examined the cases of individual countries, usually focusing on specific common issues. In contrast, the present book discusses the labor movement in each economy from the perspective of "new labor movements," which is an approach presented in the editor’s previous study, "New Labor Movements" in the Emerging Economies. New labor movements can be thought of as two distinct but related movements: the new labor movement in emerging economies observed in the 1970s and 1980s, and the inclusive and rights-advocating labor movement, which is discussed in the context of the revitalization of labor movement. Each author in the present book defines the new labor movement of each economy and then discusses the dynamics of the movement. This book does not include studies on China or India, Asia’s two major powers, because both countries were discussed in the previous book "New Labor Movements" in the Emerging Economies. Interested readers are encouraged to refer to that work.

Party-Military Relations in DPR of Korea

Published in January 2025

This book examines the issues surrounding social protection for people who move across the borders from Mozambique and Malawi to South Africa and to work as migrant workers. Specifically, it discusses the literature on social protection for international migrants; the history of cross-border migration in the southern African region; migration and social protection policies in post-apartheid South Africa; occupational diseases among Mozambican migrant mineworkers and their access to benefits and compensation systems; and the strategy of ‘migration as social protection’ for international migrants from rural northern Malawi. South Africa has one of the best systems of formal social protection in the Global South. For example, migrant mineworkers have the right to join provident funds, and permanent residents and refugees are entitled to receive forms of social assistance such as social pension. However, after migrant mineworkers return to their countries of origin, it is extremely difficult for them to apply for benefits and compensation for occupational diseases, even if they are entitled to them. This book argues that to realise social protection for migrant workers in the southern African region, not only the governments of migrant-receiving countries but also the governments of sending countries and regional organisations must play important roles.

Transnational Social Protection in Southern Africa: Labour Migration to South Africa from Mozambique and Malawi

Published in December 2024

This book examines the issues surrounding social protection for people who move across the borders from Mozambique and Malawi to South Africa and to work as migrant workers. Specifically, it discusses the literature on social protection for international migrants; the history of cross-border migration in the southern African region; migration and social protection policies in post-apartheid South Africa; occupational diseases among Mozambican migrant mineworkers and their access to benefits and compensation systems; and the strategy of ‘migration as social protection’ for international migrants from rural northern Malawi. South Africa has one of the best systems of formal social protection in the Global South. For example, migrant mineworkers have the right to join provident funds, and permanent residents and refugees are entitled to receive forms of social assistance such as social pension. However, after migrant mineworkers return to their countries of origin, it is extremely difficult for them to apply for benefits and compensation for occupational diseases, even if they are entitled to them. This book argues that to realise social protection for migrant workers in the southern African region, not only the governments of migrant-receiving countries but also the governments of sending countries and regional organisations must play important roles.

Constitutional Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published in December 2024

This is the first Japanese research book to analyze the dynamic interplay between constitutions and politics in sub-Saharan Africa. In a region with many autocratic governments despite citizens’ aspirations for democracy and human rights, constitutions often become the focal point of conflict between the government, opposition parties, and ordinary citizens, highlighting the tensions between ideals and reality. This book looks at eight countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, and Cote d'Ivoire—and examines the constitutional amendment movements, political conflicts, and citizen movements of each country through specific examples. This book, which contributes to the fields of African studies and comparative politics, provides new insights not only for readers interested in Africa but also for those interested in a wide range of topics.endix) are presented.

Compilation of the 2015 Asia-Japan Transnational Interregional Input-Output Table

Published in November 2024

This book reports on the compilation of the 2015 Asia-Japan Transnational Interregional Input-Output Table (2015 AJTIIO), which links Japan’s domestic regions with countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region.
In recent years, international input-output tables compiled by international organizations and research institutes that link the input-output tables of each country have attracted attention as a major tool for analyzing the increasingly complex structures underlying the international division of labor (global value chain). However, the degree of involvement in the international division of labor and the impacts of external shocks are considered to differ across domestic regions, and thus there is growing need for transnational interregional input-output tables (TIIOs), which enable more detailed analyses.
This book examines the compilation methodologies of TIIOs, which make it possible to explicitly grasp and analyze the differences between regions within the same country (Chapter 1), and compiles the 2015 Asia-Japan Transnational Interregional Input-Output Table (2015AJTIIO), which consists of 16 industrial sectors that link eight domestic regions in Japan with six countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region (Chapter 2). In addition, the results of several basic analyses (Chapter 3) and the complete 2015 AJTIIO (Appendix) are presented.