I study Japanese security policy and military acquisition, which is complex and constantly changing. There is simply no substitute for interviews with the actual people who make policy; no matter how opaque policy decisions may appear from the outside, they are constructed by people with different constraints and goals, and there is no better way to understand outcomes than to talk to the people who created them. Fieldwork, while important, can be difficult to fund; I'm very grateful to the Center for Japanese Studies' graduate student fellowship, which has made it possible for me to make several trips to Japan in order to conduct interviews with Japanese politicians, businesspeople, and bureaucrats. Through my conversations with these important decisionmakers my understanding of the complex process of military security policy development has been deepened, and I feel strongly that I have a much more rich and nuanced understanding of this process as a result.
— Deirdre Martin
Japanese Military Development
Department of Political Science
CJS Continuing Student Fellowship