The purpose of this project is to explore the intellectual foundations of American society --both contemporary and historical -- by incorporating the findings in the field of American Studies with those in the fields of history, politics, political thought, and international law. The members, while pursuing their own projects in their respective disciplines, sought to undertake one of the following research agenda: 1) analyzing the key concepts indispensable in understanding the intellectual foundations of American Society, such as religion, conservatism, populism and racial politics 2) analyzing the characteristics of the American approaches to academic disciplines, as exemplified in political science, the theory of international politics, international law and diplomacy, 3) analyzing the interchange of ideas between the academics and public intellectuals in the United States and in other parts of the world, for example in China, Japan and Europe

Igarashi Akio
In my capacity as chief representative of the above named collaborative research project, I served to coordinate the various aspects of the research as well as to provide the project with both its general and concluding remarks. To this end, I organized the various arguments raised during our several research meetings, carried out on-site surveys testing these arguments, and analyzed the survey results. For example, I explored a number of associated phenomena that provide the backdrop to what has recently been referred to as "Japanization" : 1) the international economy of East Asia, 2) the receptivity to Japanese mass culture on the part of Southeast Asia and South Korea, 3) the economy of Taiwan and other regions, 4) the conditions of social development in each region, 4) the emergence of a "new middle class" and associated life-styles ; 5) and, looking backward, the traditional culture of each region and the manner in which foreign culture has been accepted. In addition, I asked what kinds of inpacts the acceptance of Japanese mass culture has had in each region. On this crucial and central issue-which lends itself to verification only with the greatest of difficulty-I conducted surveys and focused much of our analysis.
As a result of this research, I concluded that the crucial period in this so called Japanization begins with an internationalizing economy, specifically the penetration of Southeast Asia by the Japanese economy after the Plaza Agreement of 1985 and extends through the transformations of the 1990 : s in the directional flow of the international economy in East Asia. However, on the question of the "commonalities" shared by, and resonances between, Japan and other East Asian cultures I was not able to reach definitive conclusions : but several propositions did, in fact, begin to emerge from the survey research. Provisionally, my research suggests that the impact of acceptance of Japanese culturevaries greatly depending on a number of factors : the particular cultural content, the region and the conditions therein, the generation, etc. Because this research, ranging as it does across a variety of disciplines and a number of regions, focuses widely on a theme that, by its very nature, possesses a plurality of aspects, the task of providing both an overview and conclusion has not been an easy one. Nevertheless, I hope to present this research in the near future in a manner that does justice to the various issues that have emerged in the course of the project.
Kurata Hideya
My specialization is Korean politics, its achievements in the past in two major topical areas : 1) the history of internal politics and constitutional history ; and 2) international politics and security guarantees. I have dealt with the first topic in a co-authored book in which we explore constitutional history in South Korea largely from a political angle. In a recent article, I devote a great deal of attention to the analysis of the relation between debated over constitutional revision of the Diet-Cabinet system and arguments for installing a new political administration. In the last analysis, the relation between these two areas of debate will constitute a major portion of research designed to demonstrate the process by which the mechanism of political change in Korea is becoming established. In the course of this research, I have consulted a variety of materials, with emphasis on published works on constitutional history and political history, materials published by the Office of the Presidential Secretariat, journals specializing in political institutions, and memoires of party politicians.
On the second topic area, in a number of articles--published largely in conference proceedings, both japanese and international--I have analyzed the security guarantees surrounding North--South Korea relations and the relations of the Korean Peninsula with other countries from the perspective of Korean unification and diplomatic relations. The issues involved have varied over the course of a period beginning with the first North--South Korean dialogue in the early 1970's and continuing up to conditions in a post--Cold present. In any case, I have endeavored to write about Korean issues based on structural analysis and conceptual understanding rather than simply amassing descriptive detail on events and figures. In particular, on complex issues such as nuclear proliferation and the aftermath of the Korean War, the critical analysis has focused heavily on points of contact with contiguous regions in the area. In this regard, my research materials have included everything from government and party newsletters and journals published in South and North Korea to U.S.State Department materials as well as newspapers and internal military publications in Russian and Chinese.
KEYWORDS (1) Korean politics (2Korean politics (3)Korean Constitution (4)party politics (5)North-South Korean relations (6)unification issue (7)nuclear Gssue (8)peace system (9)multinational conference
Mita Munesuke
My research focuses on theories of expansion of information and consumption as exemplary tendencies of modern societies. Moreover, I focus on the relations between these two phenomena of an expanding information society and a diversifying consumer society ; environmental issues--polution, natural resoource and energy--associated with the external effects of these two phenomena ; and the linkage between the "North--South question" and so-called issues of "development, " "population, " "poverty, " etc. In an attempt to suggest new directions for the resolution of these various issues, I have worked to construct a comprehensive theoretical framework.
KEYWORDS(1)expansion of information (2)expansion of consumption (3)notural resourse (4)energy issues (5)environmental issues (6)North-Sorth question
Nomura Kohichi
While the radical transformations in contemporary China begin in the 1980's, the contemporary era of reform and liberation extends back through a process of nearly twenty years. Nevertheless, these trends are still little understood. 1) On the economic front, while China's remarkable growth in CHina is universally recognized, and, at least to a certain degree, macro-control has gradually begun to function sucessfully ; the contradictions accompanying growth are still conspicuously present, in particular, an almost unimaginable widening of the discrepancies in regional economies against a backdrop of expanding national territory and a population numbering twelve hundred million. 2) On the political front, the leadership continues to strive for stability with the smooth transition of political power as a major objective ; however, the pursuit of this objective appears to be leading China toward confrontation in the international arena and toward increasing conservatism at home. In 1994, realizing the necessity of premising any exploration of the cultural and intellectual dynamics in Cnina on an understanding of this current economic and political situation, I conducted a number of survers in various locals. In my provisional conclusions, I focused on the return to " traditional culture" that had its source in a sense of loss and destabilization. (I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS LAST SENTENCE) From this point of view, as the chief investigator, I became intensely aware of the importance of contextualizing current vicissitudes within a much longer time span. My book, "The Study of China : Current Perspectives" was one effort to do precisely that. As part of this project, "Japanization" has occupied a significant place. It seems to me that lurking just behind the surface of what is commonly referred to as Japanization are a number of unarticulated views--on the one hand, a particular evaluation of Japan's historical modernization, and on the other hand, a certain sense of contempt or disdain. At present, the cultural impact on China of Japan, as a neighboring country, is no doubt considerable. Nevertheless, the fact that this actually has an ambiguous meaning for China has not been adequately explored.
KEYWORDS(1)reform-liberation (2)reform to tradition (3)modernization (4)worldiness

　国際連盟の研究について、安達峰一郎という日本の外交官であり、国際連盟の理事会で活躍し、その後常設国際司法裁判所の所長となった人物についての研究を深めた。安達は、戦前の日本が生んだ国債は外交官として活躍していたがこれまであまり研究されてこなかった。安達を多面的に掘り下げるということで、国際法および国際政治の研究者が集まり、安達をとりまく時代状況や国際法上の議論を探求した。　筆者は、安達の国際連盟理事会における活躍に焦点をあて、少数民族問題という当時のヨーロッパにおいて重要な課題を安達がどのように処理したかを、国際連盟の文書から分析した。安達は、法的な知識を基礎としつつ、理事会の議論では、当意即妙に応じるなど、連盟理事会において高く評価されていたことがわかった。また、理事会においては、国際連盟特有の「報告者」が制度的にいかに重要であるかも明らかにした。

国際関係論において法的アプローチはいかなる位置づけを得るべきなのかという課題をこの研究課題で追求した。この課題追及にあたり、ひとつは理論的な考察を行い、近年欧米で進んでいる法と政治にかかわる文献を読み込み、このテーマにかかわる研究の現況を確認した。また、具体的な課題として、ヘルシンキ大学コスケニエミ教授のもとでの共同研究に参加したプロジェクトがある。このプロジェクトでは　"Trajectory of American Reformers in the Cold War: Draft Toward Empire" という論文を書き、それをプロジェクト全体の成果物である著作に投稿した。すでに、この著作の出版は決定している。この論文では、戦間期においては改革派として名を馳せたライト(Quincy Wright) やフェンウィック（Charles Fenwick )等の国際法学者が、冷戦期においてどのようにその議論や立場を変遷させていったかを論じた。興味深いことに、キューバ危機を転換として、ライトとフェンウィックの間には、その立場に相違が生じ、ライトはアメリカ政府が行った政策を国際法違反だとしたのに対し、フェンウィックは合法だと論じた。

この課題を探求するに当たり、二つの大きな論点を考察した。それはいかに「制度」と「政治的意思」を定義するかである。制度については、国際関係においては、大別するのならば国際組織と法という二つが考えられる。国際組織は、たとえば国際連盟・国際連合などの普遍的政府間国際組織、あるいはEUなどの地域的な政府間組織もある。しかし、当研究において筆者があえて探求を深めたかったのは、そのような組織ではなく、制度としての法規範、具体的には国際法という制度である。国際社会に、絶対的な権力を有する中心的な政府が存在しないため、国際法は国家の遵守において自主性に頼る制度である。そのような法規範がいかに形成され継続されるのか、また、なぜある法規範体系はより遵守されるのに対し、他の法規範は度重なる「違反」を問われるのか、それがこの研究の根本をなす命題である。国際法規範という「制度」について、ではどのような政治的意思がはたらくのか、このような政治的意思は、政治家や外交官という政策に携わるものによってもたらされるのか。それが2番目の論点である。すなわち、政治的意思の発露にあたるアクターの問題である。政治家や官僚、外交官などの政策決定者による「政治的意思」の表明はむろん、国際法規反の形成やその発展に不可欠な要件である。国際連盟規約が、アメリカ大統領ウィルソンの指導によって作成されたように、政策決定者の役割は大きい。しかしながら、筆者があえて問題として論じたいのは、国際法規反をささえる規範意識としての「政治的意思」なのであり、この場合、政治家や政策決定者の意思が重要であることはもちろんであるが、規範意識を生み出す国際法学者の役割に筆者は注目してきたのである。中心政府が存在しない国際社会において、ある国際法規範が重要である、侵犯してはならないという意識形成に、国際法学およびその解釈者、実行者である国際法学者が果たす役割は決して小さくはないのである。より具体的なテーマとして、筆者が取り組んだのは、戦間期に国際法改革を叫んだアメリカ国際法学者がどのように戦後その議論を変遷させていったかである。戦間期に「戦争違法化」に取り組んだQuincy Wright, Chales Fenwick, Manley Hudson らの指導的学者が、冷戦、アメリカの超大国化という時代的文脈の中で、どのような政治的意思を有し、国際法の議論をおこなったかを検証した。きわめて、興味深かったのは、キューバ危機を境として、アメリカの帝国的な行動を擁護するような学説、すなわち政治的意思がが展開されてきたことである。このような実証的な発見は、国際法規範構築にあたり、どこまで国際法学者の政治的意思が、ナショナルな文脈を離れて展開されるのかという大きな問題につながると、あらためて考えさせられた。