Junko Kato - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Junko Kato

European Journal of Political Research

Echoing the call for 'no taxation without representation', the development of modern taxation wen... more Echoing the call for 'no taxation without representation', the development of modern taxation went hand-in-hand with Western democratisation. However, taxation appears to have lost its role in the third wave of democratisation. Unlike early democratisers, contemporary autocracies tend to introduce a readymade modern taxation system before democratisation. With advice from international organisations, the value added tax (VAT), which mature democracies innovated, has been adopted for economic adjustment and development in globalised markets. Despite these divergences, it is argued in this article that a fundamental relationship between taxation and representation remains. Taxation inherently involves a social contract between revenue-seeking rulers and citizens, and thus involves their bargaining over representation. Therefore, the production of state revenue intervenes in contemporary democratisation as well. By factoring in the effect of the VAT in 143 developing countries between 1960 and 2007, an entropy-balancing analysis has confirmed its important role in contemporary democratisation. The taxation-democratisation linkage has travelled from early to contemporary democratisation.

Scientific Reports

In the pursuance of equality, behavioural scientists disagree about distinct motivators, that is,... more In the pursuance of equality, behavioural scientists disagree about distinct motivators, that is, consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself. However, accumulating data suggest that these motivators may share a common process in the brain whereby perspectives and events that did not arise in the immediate environment are conceived. To examine this, we devised a game imitating a real decision-making situation regarding redistribution among income classes in a welfare state. The neural correlates of redistributive decisions were examined under contrasting conditions, with and without uncertainty, which affects support for equality in society. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the caudate nucleus were activated by equality decisions with uncertainty but by selfless decisions without uncertainty. Activation was also correlated with subjective values. Activation in both the dACC and the caudate nucleus was associated with the attitude to prefer accordance with others, whereas activation in the caudate nucleus reflected that the expected reward involved the prospective calculation of relative income. The neural correlates suggest that consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself may underlie the support for equality. Projecting oneself into the perspective of others and into prospective future situations may underpin the pursuance of equality.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Path Dependence and Policy Diffusion, 2003

本章の原型となった論文は、東京大学社会科学研究所紀要「社会科学研究」、1999年、第50巻、第2号に掲載され、その後、加筆の上、台湾中央研究院近代史研究所で行なわれた学術会議(2001年3月23... more 本章の原型となった論文は、東京大学社会科学研究所紀要「社会科学研究」、1999年、第50巻、第2号に掲載され、その後、加筆の上、台湾中央研究院近代史研究所で行なわれた学術会議(2001年3月23-24日）で発表された。本章は、それをさらに大幅に加筆修正したものである。 科学研究費補助金（特定領域研究） = Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas

ABSTRACT Abstract will be provided by author.

Since 1993, Japan has experienced party breakups, mergers and the formation of new parties that a... more Since 1993, Japan has experienced party breakups, mergers and the formation of new parties that are rare in industrial democracies. As a result, the one-party dominance by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with perennial opposition parties, has evolved into a LDP-centered governing coalition faced with the Democratic Party (DP) contending with it for office. While an electoral system change took place at the same time, party switching by legislators has led to a changing balance of power among parties, especially between the LDP and the DP. Especially since 1996, when the first election under a new electoral system took place, both the LDP and the DP have continued to attract switchers from other smaller parties and to increase their size. The LDP's size has exceeded the threshold for a majority, but the party has not been able to attract a sufficient number of party switchers to achieve a majority that would enable it to pass legislation without allying with other parties. In...

Studies in Public Choice, 2011

The literature maintains that in the history of mature democracies, a progressive income tax evol... more The literature maintains that in the history of mature democracies, a progressive income tax evolved with a demand for equality, as reflected in the phrase "no taxation without representation." Starting in the mid-1970s, international economic pressure led to the introduction of regressive consumption taxes in countries that have been democratizing and are yet to democratize. However, little attention has been paid to the emerging link between regressive taxation and representation. Redistributive politics is a critical intervening factor. Although elites accept modern taxation without fearing redistribution, with its regressive effect, citizens increase their demand for equality. We conduct a quantitative analysis of 160 countries from 1960 to 2008 and confirm a positive effect of regressive taxes on democratization. We also find that economic growth alleviates the negative effect of tax inequality on democratization. This study illuminates the new tax-democratization lin...

Revue française de science politique, 2001

... Qu'est-ce qui a vraiment changé dans le système partisan au Japon et en Italie dans la d... more ... Qu'est-ce qui a vraiment changé dans le système partisan au Japon et en Italie dans la décennie 1990 ? ... Aux législatives de mars 1994, 71 % des élus étaient de nouveaux venus (Verzichelli, 1995, p. 139-160) – un taux jamais vu en cent ans de régime parlementaire, sauf à l ...

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2009

Understanding changes in attitudes towards others is critical to understanding human behaviour. N... more Understanding changes in attitudes towards others is critical to understanding human behaviour. Neuropolitical studies have found that the activation of emotion-related areas in the brain is linked to resilient political preferences, and neuroeconomic research has analysed the neural correlates of social preferences that favour or oppose consideration of intrinsic rewards. This study aims to identify the neural correlates in the prefrontal cortices of changes in political attitudes toward others that are linked to social cognition. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments have presented videos from previous electoral campaigns and television commercials for major cola brands and then used the subjects' self-rated affi nity toward political candidates as behavioural indicators. After viewing negative campaign videos, subjects showing stronger fMRI activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lowered their ratings of the candidate they originally supported more than did those with smaller fMRI signal changes in the same region. Subjects showing stronger activation in the medial prefrontal cortex tended to increase their ratings more than did those with less activation. The same regions were not activated by viewing negative advertisements for cola. Correlations between the selfrated values and the neural signal changes underscore the metric representation of observed decisions (i.e., whether to support or not) in the brain. This indicates that neurometric analysis may contribute to the exploration of the neural correlates of daily social behaviour.

Path Dependence and Policy Diffusion, 2003

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This study examines a dynamic, legislative party system that has witnessed the fissions ... more ABSTRACT This study examines a dynamic, legislative party system that has witnessed the fissions and fusions of parties that accompany the extensive switching of legislative members. Office-seeking models predict the formation of minimal winning coalitions that are based on distribution of seats among parties. Without assuming that the party is a unitary actor, one can examine the office-seeking assumptions of individual legislators to gain critical theoretical implications. The Japanese party system has provided an experimental case of dynamic legislative party systems for the last two decades. Building on Laver and Kato (2001), this study further explores the Japanese case to examine the theoretical implications when office-seeking assumptions are applied to a dynamic system. More specifically, it examines the interaction between legislative party systems in both houses of the Japanese Diet. The evidence here suggests the split of a super majority party into a bare majority party and a near majority party’s attraction for switchers to help it pass a majority threshold. The study demonstrates that the dynamic that resulted from a near majority or super majority party occurred with the formation of the government as well as with the incongruence of majorities in both houses.

Swiss Political Science Review, 2004

ABSTRACT Both the Swiss and the Japanese welfare states are difficult to classify in any one of t... more ABSTRACT Both the Swiss and the Japanese welfare states are difficult to classify in any one of the most widespread typologies, as each of the two countries combines features that are typical of the liberal model, such as a large private sector role in the delivery of welfare, with aspects that are more reminiscent of the conservative model. These include a social insurance system geared toward status preservation and low employment rates for mothers. In this article, Japan and Switzerland are characterised as liberal conservative welfare states. After pointing out the key features of this hybrid welfare state model, the article puts forward some hypothesis with regard to the reform trajectory that this model is likely to follow. In particular, it is argued that retrenchment in these two countries is likely to be more substantial than in conservative welfare states, because the private schemes that are going to be curtailed are less accountable to public scrutiny and do not automatically expose retrenchment-oriented governments to the risk of electoral punishment. The hypothesis is only partially confirmed by the empirical analysis of reform, as Swiss direct democracy institutions are proving a formidable obstacle to a generalised dismantling of welfare programmes. In Japan, uncovered needs resulting from retrenchment and social change are being picked up by families.

PLoS ONE, 2011

Perceiving differences by means of spatial analogies is intrinsic to human cognition. Multi-dimen... more Perceiving differences by means of spatial analogies is intrinsic to human cognition. Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis based on Minkowski geometry has been used primarily on data on sensory similarity judgments, leaving judgments on abstractive differences unanalyzed. Indeed, analysts have failed to find appropriate experimental or real-life data in this regard. Our MDS analysis used survey data on political scientists' judgments of the similarities and differences between political positions expressed in terms of distance. Both distance smoothing and majorization techniques were applied to a three-way dataset of similarity judgments provided by at least seven experts on at least five parties' positions on at least seven policies (i.e., originally yielding 245 dimensions) to substantially reduce the risk of local minima. The analysis found two dimensions, which were sufficient for mapping differences, and fit the city-block dimensions better than the Euclidean metric in all datasets obtained from 13 countries. Most city-block dimensions were highly correlated with the simplified criterion (i.e., the left-right ideology) for differences that are actually used in real politics. The isometry of the city-block and dominance metrics in two-dimensional space carries further implications. More specifically, individuals may pay attention to two dimensions (if represented in the city-block metric) or focus on a single dimension (if represented in the dominance metric) when judging differences between the same objects. Switching between metrics may be expected to occur during cognitive processing as frequently as the apparent discontinuities and shifts in human attention that may underlie changing judgments in real situations occur. Consequently, the result has extended strong support for the validity of the geometric models to represent an important social cognition, i.e., the one of political differences, which is deeply rooted in human nature.

European Journal of Political Research

Echoing the call for 'no taxation without representation', the development of modern taxation wen... more Echoing the call for 'no taxation without representation', the development of modern taxation went hand-in-hand with Western democratisation. However, taxation appears to have lost its role in the third wave of democratisation. Unlike early democratisers, contemporary autocracies tend to introduce a readymade modern taxation system before democratisation. With advice from international organisations, the value added tax (VAT), which mature democracies innovated, has been adopted for economic adjustment and development in globalised markets. Despite these divergences, it is argued in this article that a fundamental relationship between taxation and representation remains. Taxation inherently involves a social contract between revenue-seeking rulers and citizens, and thus involves their bargaining over representation. Therefore, the production of state revenue intervenes in contemporary democratisation as well. By factoring in the effect of the VAT in 143 developing countries between 1960 and 2007, an entropy-balancing analysis has confirmed its important role in contemporary democratisation. The taxation-democratisation linkage has travelled from early to contemporary democratisation.

Scientific Reports

In the pursuance of equality, behavioural scientists disagree about distinct motivators, that is,... more In the pursuance of equality, behavioural scientists disagree about distinct motivators, that is, consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself. However, accumulating data suggest that these motivators may share a common process in the brain whereby perspectives and events that did not arise in the immediate environment are conceived. To examine this, we devised a game imitating a real decision-making situation regarding redistribution among income classes in a welfare state. The neural correlates of redistributive decisions were examined under contrasting conditions, with and without uncertainty, which affects support for equality in society. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the caudate nucleus were activated by equality decisions with uncertainty but by selfless decisions without uncertainty. Activation was also correlated with subjective values. Activation in both the dACC and the caudate nucleus was associated with the attitude to prefer accordance with others, whereas activation in the caudate nucleus reflected that the expected reward involved the prospective calculation of relative income. The neural correlates suggest that consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself may underlie the support for equality. Projecting oneself into the perspective of others and into prospective future situations may underpin the pursuance of equality.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Path Dependence and Policy Diffusion, 2003

本章の原型となった論文は、東京大学社会科学研究所紀要「社会科学研究」、1999年、第50巻、第2号に掲載され、その後、加筆の上、台湾中央研究院近代史研究所で行なわれた学術会議(2001年3月23... more 本章の原型となった論文は、東京大学社会科学研究所紀要「社会科学研究」、1999年、第50巻、第2号に掲載され、その後、加筆の上、台湾中央研究院近代史研究所で行なわれた学術会議(2001年3月23-24日）で発表された。本章は、それをさらに大幅に加筆修正したものである。 科学研究費補助金（特定領域研究） = Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas

ABSTRACT Abstract will be provided by author.

Since 1993, Japan has experienced party breakups, mergers and the formation of new parties that a... more Since 1993, Japan has experienced party breakups, mergers and the formation of new parties that are rare in industrial democracies. As a result, the one-party dominance by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with perennial opposition parties, has evolved into a LDP-centered governing coalition faced with the Democratic Party (DP) contending with it for office. While an electoral system change took place at the same time, party switching by legislators has led to a changing balance of power among parties, especially between the LDP and the DP. Especially since 1996, when the first election under a new electoral system took place, both the LDP and the DP have continued to attract switchers from other smaller parties and to increase their size. The LDP's size has exceeded the threshold for a majority, but the party has not been able to attract a sufficient number of party switchers to achieve a majority that would enable it to pass legislation without allying with other parties. In...

Studies in Public Choice, 2011

The literature maintains that in the history of mature democracies, a progressive income tax evol... more The literature maintains that in the history of mature democracies, a progressive income tax evolved with a demand for equality, as reflected in the phrase "no taxation without representation." Starting in the mid-1970s, international economic pressure led to the introduction of regressive consumption taxes in countries that have been democratizing and are yet to democratize. However, little attention has been paid to the emerging link between regressive taxation and representation. Redistributive politics is a critical intervening factor. Although elites accept modern taxation without fearing redistribution, with its regressive effect, citizens increase their demand for equality. We conduct a quantitative analysis of 160 countries from 1960 to 2008 and confirm a positive effect of regressive taxes on democratization. We also find that economic growth alleviates the negative effect of tax inequality on democratization. This study illuminates the new tax-democratization lin...

Revue française de science politique, 2001

... Qu'est-ce qui a vraiment changé dans le système partisan au Japon et en Italie dans la d... more ... Qu'est-ce qui a vraiment changé dans le système partisan au Japon et en Italie dans la décennie 1990 ? ... Aux législatives de mars 1994, 71 % des élus étaient de nouveaux venus (Verzichelli, 1995, p. 139-160) – un taux jamais vu en cent ans de régime parlementaire, sauf à l ...

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2009

Understanding changes in attitudes towards others is critical to understanding human behaviour. N... more Understanding changes in attitudes towards others is critical to understanding human behaviour. Neuropolitical studies have found that the activation of emotion-related areas in the brain is linked to resilient political preferences, and neuroeconomic research has analysed the neural correlates of social preferences that favour or oppose consideration of intrinsic rewards. This study aims to identify the neural correlates in the prefrontal cortices of changes in political attitudes toward others that are linked to social cognition. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments have presented videos from previous electoral campaigns and television commercials for major cola brands and then used the subjects' self-rated affi nity toward political candidates as behavioural indicators. After viewing negative campaign videos, subjects showing stronger fMRI activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lowered their ratings of the candidate they originally supported more than did those with smaller fMRI signal changes in the same region. Subjects showing stronger activation in the medial prefrontal cortex tended to increase their ratings more than did those with less activation. The same regions were not activated by viewing negative advertisements for cola. Correlations between the selfrated values and the neural signal changes underscore the metric representation of observed decisions (i.e., whether to support or not) in the brain. This indicates that neurometric analysis may contribute to the exploration of the neural correlates of daily social behaviour.

Path Dependence and Policy Diffusion, 2003

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This study examines a dynamic, legislative party system that has witnessed the fissions ... more ABSTRACT This study examines a dynamic, legislative party system that has witnessed the fissions and fusions of parties that accompany the extensive switching of legislative members. Office-seeking models predict the formation of minimal winning coalitions that are based on distribution of seats among parties. Without assuming that the party is a unitary actor, one can examine the office-seeking assumptions of individual legislators to gain critical theoretical implications. The Japanese party system has provided an experimental case of dynamic legislative party systems for the last two decades. Building on Laver and Kato (2001), this study further explores the Japanese case to examine the theoretical implications when office-seeking assumptions are applied to a dynamic system. More specifically, it examines the interaction between legislative party systems in both houses of the Japanese Diet. The evidence here suggests the split of a super majority party into a bare majority party and a near majority party’s attraction for switchers to help it pass a majority threshold. The study demonstrates that the dynamic that resulted from a near majority or super majority party occurred with the formation of the government as well as with the incongruence of majorities in both houses.

Swiss Political Science Review, 2004

ABSTRACT Both the Swiss and the Japanese welfare states are difficult to classify in any one of t... more ABSTRACT Both the Swiss and the Japanese welfare states are difficult to classify in any one of the most widespread typologies, as each of the two countries combines features that are typical of the liberal model, such as a large private sector role in the delivery of welfare, with aspects that are more reminiscent of the conservative model. These include a social insurance system geared toward status preservation and low employment rates for mothers. In this article, Japan and Switzerland are characterised as liberal conservative welfare states. After pointing out the key features of this hybrid welfare state model, the article puts forward some hypothesis with regard to the reform trajectory that this model is likely to follow. In particular, it is argued that retrenchment in these two countries is likely to be more substantial than in conservative welfare states, because the private schemes that are going to be curtailed are less accountable to public scrutiny and do not automatically expose retrenchment-oriented governments to the risk of electoral punishment. The hypothesis is only partially confirmed by the empirical analysis of reform, as Swiss direct democracy institutions are proving a formidable obstacle to a generalised dismantling of welfare programmes. In Japan, uncovered needs resulting from retrenchment and social change are being picked up by families.

PLoS ONE, 2011

Perceiving differences by means of spatial analogies is intrinsic to human cognition. Multi-dimen... more Perceiving differences by means of spatial analogies is intrinsic to human cognition. Multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis based on Minkowski geometry has been used primarily on data on sensory similarity judgments, leaving judgments on abstractive differences unanalyzed. Indeed, analysts have failed to find appropriate experimental or real-life data in this regard. Our MDS analysis used survey data on political scientists' judgments of the similarities and differences between political positions expressed in terms of distance. Both distance smoothing and majorization techniques were applied to a three-way dataset of similarity judgments provided by at least seven experts on at least five parties' positions on at least seven policies (i.e., originally yielding 245 dimensions) to substantially reduce the risk of local minima. The analysis found two dimensions, which were sufficient for mapping differences, and fit the city-block dimensions better than the Euclidean metric in all datasets obtained from 13 countries. Most city-block dimensions were highly correlated with the simplified criterion (i.e., the left-right ideology) for differences that are actually used in real politics. The isometry of the city-block and dominance metrics in two-dimensional space carries further implications. More specifically, individuals may pay attention to two dimensions (if represented in the city-block metric) or focus on a single dimension (if represented in the dominance metric) when judging differences between the same objects. Switching between metrics may be expected to occur during cognitive processing as frequently as the apparent discontinuities and shifts in human attention that may underlie changing judgments in real situations occur. Consequently, the result has extended strong support for the validity of the geometric models to represent an important social cognition, i.e., the one of political differences, which is deeply rooted in human nature.