Chapter 18 Self Quiz

. What was the 'Lehman Shock'?

The surprising recovery of the Japanese economy from 2008-2011, after the global financial crisis

The abrupt return to dominance of the LDP, bolstered by foreign capital

The Japanese term for the financial crisis of 2008

The astonishing decisions of Japanese banks to buy the failing Lehman Brothers company

. Who lived in the tent city that emerged in Hibiya Park in the winter of 2008?

Workers who had been abruptly fired from companies

Tokyo's homeless who had been ousted from the banks of the Sumida river

A protest group of elderly activists challenging pension policies of the nearby Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare

Government employees showing solidarity with private sector employees who'd lost their jobs

. The foreign press repeatedly compared America's financial problems after 2008 to Japan's in the 1990s because...

They involved precisely the same set of elite international banks

They were both remedied by the same group of economists

They were both seen as consequences of the two countries' close economic ties

They were both seen as having the same causes and structural characteristics

. Which of the following was NOT notable about Hatoyama Yukio's rise to Prime Minister in 2009?

He was a fourth-generation politician

His DPJ secured more seats than any other non-LDP party in the post war period

The DPJ won absolute majorities in both chambers of the Diet

Despite its early popularity his government proved to be a disappointment

. What was the political consequence of the US's refusal to move its military bases from Okinawa in 2009-2010?

It revealed the fundamental geopolitical subordination of any Japanese government to the US

It showed that the US was willing to use military force to maintain its position in Japan.

It showed that Hatoyama Yukio had been betrayed by his political allies

It showed that Tokyo was uninterested in the political and social conditions of peripheral territories such as Okinawa.

. Which of the following was NOT a notable characteristic of Hashimoto Toru?

He grew up in an underprivileged buraku community

He supported forcing teachers to sing the national anthem in schools

He proposed merging Osaka city and Osaka prefecture

He won support from the LDP for his attacks on bureaucrats

. What was identified as one of the chief links between Japan's economic conditions and its low birth rate?

The failure of young people to find steady work contributed to their reluctance to start families

The income disparity between the rich and the poor discouraged the poor from having children

Young women were forced into employment and did not have time to raise children

All of the above

. What was a soshokukeidanshi("grass eating guy")?

A young man unwilling to travel abroad to study

A homosexual youth

A young man lacking energy or ambition

A male vegetarian

. Which of the following was NOT associated with the disaster of March 11th, 2011?

The volcanic eruption

A massive tsunami

Over 15,000 deaths

A meltdown at a nuclear power station

. What was revealed about TEPCO's planning for nuclear emergencies in 2012?

That Fukushima power station had been built without sea walls

That TEPCO has suppressed a report from a scientist warning of an imminent disaster

The emergency generators were not well maintained so they failed

That TEPCO decided the cost of measures to protect the plant from an extremely unlikely massive tsunami was too high.

. What was the name of the US military operation to assist Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake of 2011?

Operation Tamagotchi

Operation Tokyo

Operation Tomodachi

Operation Tohoku

. What happened to the DPJ in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 earthquake?

It won plaudits for its determined and efficient handling of the situation

Prime Minister Naoto Kan was undermined and ejected from office

It was forced to merge with smaller parties to retain its power

It conceded on Japan's territorial disputes in gratitude for assistance from Korea and China

. Who led the LDP's comeback of 2012?

Abe Shinzo

Ozawa Ichiro

Kan Naoto

Noda Yoshihiko

. What characterized the politics of the Japan Restoration Party?

Anti-American rhetoric

A plan to completely overhaul Japan's electoral system

A commitment to remove all American bases from Japan

Demagoguery and nationalism.

. What was identified by exit polls as one of the key elements in the LDP's victory in 2012?

The personal popularity of Abe Shinzo

Belief that the LDP would bring needed social reforms

Concerns about the Japan Restoration Party

Anger at the DPJ

. Which of the following was NOT a charismatic conservative politician outside the LDP mainstream in 2000s Japan?

Ishihara Shintaro

Koike Yuriko

Shinzo Abe

Hashimoto Toru

. What did Emperor Akihito announce in 2016?

That he wished to resign from the throne

That he hope his grand-daughters would be made eligible to ascend the throne

That he opposed the government of Abe Shinzo

That he wished to change the era name from 'Heisei' to 'Heiwa' (Peace)

. What was the key slogan of Abe Shinzo's second premiership?

'Japan is Back'

'Make Japan Great Again'

'The Lost Decade is Over'

'Women Are the Future'

. Why did South Korea object to Japan's attempts to designate some of its shipyards and coal mines as UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Because they had produced the weapons used to conquer Korea

Because the South Koreans preferred to have their own shipyards and mines designated as such

Because the Japanese had used Korean forced labor in these locations during World War II

Because the Japanese had failed to support a bid to give World Heritage Status to Korea's Diamond Mountain

. Which scandal relating to gender came to light in 2018?

The LDP was limiting its number of female candidates

Medical schools were lowering the exam scores of female candidates

The cabinet minister for gender equality was charged with sexual harassment

That Self-Defense Force was rejecting qualified women applicants

. What is the Japanese era name from May 2019?

Heiwa

Reiwa

Reisei

Manga

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