In modern society, to be informed about the acts of government and to participate in politics has become a world trend. In recent years, this trend has even reached previously socialistic countries and developing countries. The biggest factor regarding Freedom of Information Acts in the three examined Asian countries was the breakdown of the autocratic system, that is to say, the transition to a democratic system. This paper demonstrates commonalities in the processes of Freedom of Information Acts (between developing countries and advanced countries) on the basis of similarities of Freedom of Information Acts adopted in three Asian countries in conjunction with the breakdown of existing autocratic systems. I will also report on the background and factors involved.

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Saburo Eda, a former leading member of the Japan Socialist Party, has been reassessed in these past few years. This paper will discuss whether or not such a reassessment is appropriate. The discussion will be particularly focused on whether Eda advocates West European social democracy. When Saburo Eda is compared with Suehiro Nishio, who was also a leading member of the Japan Socialist Party and later founded the Democratic Socialist Party, in terms of views on socialism and politics, it is revealed that Eda is not a pioneer as a social democrat in Japan. Table of contents 1. Modern reassessment of Eda 2. Relationship between party and ideology 3. Relationship between socialism, social democracy, West European social democracy, and democratic socialism 4. Saburo Eda's views on socialism 5. Suehiro Nishio's views on socialism and politics

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In today's world of economic globalization, information and money exchange has developed at an astoundingly rapid pace. And the things we exchange have become more and more able to cross country borders unhindered. This has created what we have come to call the 'internationalization of crime'. The current ease of money exchange in particular, has lead to an increase in money laundering by organized crime, but drug trafficking, bribery, and unfair and fraudulent trading of company stocks and shares is also rampant. While the problems are international ones, and are certaintly not limited to one country, this article will consider and focus on the issuer particular to modern day China. A global solution will be necessary if lawmakers hope to regain ground lost to the criminal underworld.

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After the end of the Pacific War, Japan faced an unprecedented food crisis. Prewar Japan's food supply was supported by Japanese colonies (Korean and Taiwan), Manchurian and Southeast Asia. But, Japan couldn't import food from these areas by herself because the Japanese government accepted an unconditional surrender and took no actions, including the importation of food, without GHQ's permission. So, Postwar Japan had to stand on her own feet in spite of a sudden increase in the demand for food. Moreover, Japanese rice crops suffered great losses by storm and flood in September of 1945. As a result, it was expected that Japan would be short of about 3 millions tons of food in 1946, and that many Japanese people wouldn't get enough food to live. Afterwards, the Japanese Government through the Central Liaison Office entreated GHQ to import 3 millions tons of food from other countries. However, it took Japanese people more than half a year to gain them and Japan suffered from hunger in May 1946. GHQ also encountered difficulties as riots occurred throughout Japan and the occupation of Japan almost collapsed. I examined the reasons why they faced it and clarified the following matters. First, they had optimistic viewpoints about the next year's food situation in Japan and so failed to prepare against a food crisis. Second, Japan-GHQ negotiations deadlocked by December 1945 because GHQ demanded to take efforts to collect foods from Japanese farmers. Third, GHQ, especially the import-export division in the Economic Scientific Section, tried to import food from Asian countries as a business, but failed. After that, GHQ finally called on the US government for importing food to Japan in February 1946, but it was too late to prevent a riot. The above explanation makes it clear that GHQ didn't have a system for crisis management. Moreover, it clarified that GHQ was lacking in gathering correct information from around Japan and communicating with other section's members of GHQ. So, I'd like to conclude that these factors concerning GHQ promoted a straying of negotiation with the Japanese Government and the food crisis in 1946.

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The object of this article is an investigation of the status quo and the subject of "Home Help Service At Night" that is one of "the Community-oriented services" that was founded when Long-term care insurance act was amended in 2005. For the aged who need care and live in their home, it is very important that they can make sure of their security at night. From such a point of view, last year, I did a questionnaire survey and hearing to service providers of "Home Help Service At Night" in cooperation with a scholar of social welfare. In this article, first, an outline of "Home Help Service At Night" is explained, and then, the effects of questionnaire survey and hearing is presented. The biggest problem that we can read from them is that this service has few users. This article investigations the causes of this from the point of view of comparison with "emergency report service" that is similar to "Home Help Service At Night".Finally, this article investigations the status quo and subjects of "Home Help Service At Night" from a legal point of view, and points out a few policy subjects for the future.

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In this article, I attempt an analysis of the results of public policy by integrated governance over several local governments involving citizen participation in the case of the Yodo River Improvement Project. The conclusion of this article is that a difference between the governance jurisdiction and the unit of democracy will be result in: 1) citizen participation in policy making process will not always be able to make public policy suitable to the residents' preference and, 2) any governor will be able to realize their purpose as a veto player in integrated governance over several local governments.

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In the United States, there are 39 states which select judges through public election. The greatest reason for selecting a judge election is to make them accountable to the citizens. The court is judging also about the political issue positively in recent years. Therefore, citizens came to think that they want to know the judicial view and political view of the judge who makes a political judgment. The announcement of the candidate in an election period serves as means which get to know a judge for a citizen. However, a judge has a request of "Judicial Independence" of being restrained by only law and the constitution. Therefore, it was going to secure independence of the jurisdiction by limiting the contents which speak during the election to judge nature. This paper is dealt with the example of Minnesota where the judge candidate's speech was restricted in order to secure Judicial Independence. And it is examined whether speech restrictions of a judge candidate conform to U.S. Const. first amendment. Moreover, the problem of one with desirable electing a judge how was also raised ignited by this example. These problems are also examined.

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By the progress of urbanization in Japan, city planning systems were introduced from Europe and America. In this Process, many cities pointed out the problem of imperfect cooperation between building control by police and city planning. On this point, this paper argues about the discussion in the "National City Planning Conference" in the Showa Period.

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The purpose of this paper is to review the political power struggle for de-veloping a totalitarian single-party system, by analyzing how Fumimamo Konoe, his fellows, and the army coped with political parties' activities to re-organize the political world utilizing Konoe's new party campaign from the late 1930s to the early 1940s, in which the conflict among the national government, the army, and political parties became more fierce. The Shino-Japanese War, which broke out in the wake of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937, showed the sign of prolongation in 1938. Then, the first Konoe Cabinet resigned en bloc in January 1939. Later, the Hiranuma, Abe, and Yonai Cabinets were established as the national government, with the prime ministers being military personnel and bureaucrats. However, these three cabinets could not improve the situation, and Japan witnessed the deepening of political confrontation due to the prolongation of the Shino-Japanese War. On the other hand, the Japanese army aimed to back up Konoe with the purpose of unifying diplomatic measures in response to the peace overture toward China for terminating the war, and the central government aimed to reorganize the political world by organizing Konoe's New Party. Then, in July 1940, the Yonai Cabinet resigned en bloc, and the second Konoe Cabinet was established based on the supports from the army and political parties. This paper focuses on the domestic political visions and diplomatic policy visions of the army and political parties, elucidates the influences of the relation between the army and political parties on the politics before and after the inauguration of the second Konoe Cabinet, and then discusses the factors in the failure of "Konoe's New Systems" while considering the difference from the political plans of Konoe's fellows.

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