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TOPリスク研究センター経済学部附属リスク研究センターリスク研開催イベント情報2008年度セミナー・講演会情報一覧 ≫ セミナー 2008/6/25

セミナー 2008/6/25

リスク研究センターセミナー報告

講師:Glenn Hook氏
(英国シェフィールド大学教授・リスク研究センター国際顧問メンバー)

演題:『Intersecting Risks and Governing Okinawa:
American Bases and the Unfinished War 』

(Cf.) Japan Forum Vol.22 No.1-2 March-June 2010: pp.195-217

日時: 平成20年6月25日(水)16:00~17:30
会場: 校舎棟3階 第17講義室
司会: ロバート・アスピノール教授 (本学経済学部)
フック教授 司会のアスピノール教授
Dr. Hook
司会のDr.Aspinall
セミナーの様子
セミナーの様子

(セミナー概要)
Professor Hook began the talk by discussing three different ways in which Risk Analysis can be used in examining international problems. Firstly there is the category of Risk and Regulation in which governments as well as private organizations and individuals try to manage risk by predicting likely future risks and then preparing for them; secondly there is Risk and Modernity in which risk is understood as being an integral part of post-industrial society; and thirdly there is Risk and Governance in which governments and other institutions use risk to discipline the population.

In his current research into US bases in Okinawa, Professor Hook is interested in the unequal distribution of risk with respect to these bases, and also the balance between external risk (threats from outside Japan) and internal risk (problems associated with hosting the American military). Professor Hook has recently spent two research trips in Okinawa. In the first one in 2007 he focused on interviewing those who were opposed to the bases, and in the follow-up trip in March 2008 he talked to groups and individuals who supported the presence of the bases. He was surprised to find that hardly anyone in either group wanted to talk about external risks (for example threats to Japan’s security from China or North Korea). Instead opponents wanted to talk mostly about risks that were posed by the presence of the US military, especially the Marines. There were concerns about crimes committed by US military personnel and the fact that when these occur, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between Japan and the US means that American military suspects can not be easily convicted by the Japanese criminal justice system. There were also concerns about environmental risks especially noise pollution from bases located very close to civilian housing.

Professor Hook said that the phrase 'unfinished war' in the title of his talk is derived from his interviews with some Okinawan landowners upon whose land the American bases are located. Some of them said words to the effect that 'so long as the bases are on our land the war is not finished.' Interestingly Professor Hook went on to note that this tended to be the view of the older generation, who can remember a time before the bases were there (or before they were expanded). Younger landowners who have inherited the land more recently are apt to think more in terms of the rent they are paid by the Japanese government (on behalf of the US military) which is set at above-market levels.

Professor Hook concluded that in Okinawa there is a sense that the risk of shouldering the burden of the US military presence in Japan is very unequally distributed. However, some groups and individuals see the opportunity as well as the negative side of these risks – for example the younger landowners mentioned above as well as contractors and others who work for the US military. Activists who oppose the bases are now trying to claim that it is unconstitutional for the Japanese government to impose such a disproportional burden on Okinawa, because the constitution of Japan guarantees equality of treatment for all citizens under the law. (by Robert Aspinall)

(フック教授のプロフィール)
英国シェフィールド大学東アジア研究所所長。英国リーズ大学の日本研究所初代所長。NIJS(英国国立日本研究所)所長。国際関係論がご専門で、研究領域は東アジアの政治・経済における日本の役割、グローバリゼーション、地域化。日本語・英語数々の著書があります。
               
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