The politics of rights and identity in Japan

This article attempts to analyze Japan's position on human rights issues in the Asia-Pacific region by moving beyond the conventional framework of universal versus particular values. Aspects of the 'politics of identity' in Japan reveal a complex picture in which the Japanese state's long commitment to an homogeneous culture have been challenged by both domestic and regional diversity. Although such challenges have frequently been couched in terms of a politics of rights, they have tended to be overwhelmed by the state's attempts to maintain domestic political stability through the construction of an homogeneous Japanese identity. Unless it can move towards a more positive accommodation of its own and the region's diversity, Japan is unlikely to adopt an activist role in the promotion of human rights in the Asia-Pacific region.