Abstract
This paper aims to extract the norm that regulates population policy in contemporary Japanese society and to examine its formation process in relation to political power. Specifically, with reference to Michel Foucault’s study of “governmentality,” we have focused on the norm of population policy based on the modern population theory, which has not been discussed in previous studies. Recently, the idea that population problems can occur through the development of an imbalance between population and other elements has become widespread in the field of population policy. It appears that the aim of maintaining or restoring balance is the norm to guide population policy. In this paper, we will call this norm “equilibration.”
“Equilibration” as an art of government developed through discussions over excess population in the wake of a civic disturbance called the Rice Riots of 1918. Itwas thought that the Rice Riots were caused by a disparity between population and food. However, in opposition to Malthusian population theory, which discussed the theme of the relationship between population and food, other population theories that focused on other elements related to population emerged. Through this socalled “Taisho to early Showa population controversy,” the “population equation” was finally established by integrating each population theory.
In addition, a framework for the equilibration of the population equation was not only limited to abstract arguments within academic circles but was also introduced into policy theory as its theoretical foundation. As a response to the problem of social order represented by the Rice Riots, a strategy based on governmentality was introduced into the field of policy theory. This was characterized by affecting the level of the population to guide the conduct of the people, rather than oppressing them through violence and surveillance.
