"Think Global, Fear Local: Sex, Violence, and Anxiety in Contemporary Japan"

David Leheny, Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Examining both Japan's 9/11 counterterrorism strategies and the government's handling of the "compensated dating" problem (in which high school girls date adult men for money or presents), Think Global, Fear Local argues that global agreements on crime and justice can shape the local politics of fear and scapegoating. In both cases, police and security officials had long wanted to enhance the state's coercive authority -- against external threats like potential North Korean saboteurs, and internal concerns like sexually active schoolgirls -- but used international conventions directed at different problems to legitimize their efforts. Although the book draws attention to strategic action by political elites, it also draws heavily on the presentation of contemporary fears in Japanese popular culture.

David Leheny (Ph.D., Cornell University, 1998) is an associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of articles in English and Japanese, as well as his previous book, The Rules of Play: National Identity and the Shaping of Japanese Leisure (Cornell University Press, 2003).

Program followed by reception and book-signing.

Other programs in the IEAS Book Series: New Perspectives on East Asia.