Possibility of rescaling studies developing in Japan

Abstract

This paper presents the objectives and results of the symposium at the annual meeting of Association of Regional and Community Studies, where we try to get a basic understanding of rescaling studies. Firstly, recent attention to the studies of rescaling is overviewed. Secondly, the concept of scale and the contexts of rescaling studies are examined by summarizing the presentations of three invited scholars who are political geographer or political scientist. Thirdly, I try to look at the rescaling problem in a European historical context which is formalized as a transformation from Fordism to Post-Fordism. The requirements for local economic development and new forms of urban governance under the globalization economy need state rescaling. Lastly, it is explored that rescaling studies in Japanese historical context have a fruitful field of research, but need a careful investigation of the differences in timing and position of the Japanese capitalism under the global economic development.