Research interest

There are three core strands to my research: Japan’s political economy; critical political economy (varieties of capitalism and regulation theory); and the study of workers’ resistance and protest (quantitative and qualitative analysis). These focuses are reflected in my doctoral thesis and current working papers. What follows is an attempt to outline the main aspects of my research in the last five years.

I researched the transformation of Japan’s model of capitalism, by adopting a class-conflict-focused regulation theory and analysing five institutions in Japan’s political economy. In order to capture the process of transformation from the post-war to contemporary periods, my doctorate thesis examined changes in the five key socio-economic institutions in Japan: the level of insertion of Japanese economy into international economy; inter-firm relations; monetary and financial regime; the form of Japanese state, and the wage-labour nexus. Each institution and its transformation are analyzed from the 1980s to the present. A general process from an organized form of capitalism towards a disorganized form of capitalism is demonstrated by introducing changes in institutions, such as the disintegration of the capital-labour compromise, neo-liberal labour policies, an increased level of employment insecurity, risk transferring from the state to individuals, an increase in competition among firms, the development of Anglo-American corporate practices, increased public debts, and an indecisiveness among politicians.

I also researched the patterns of acts of resistance in Japan between 1986 and 2009 by adopting quantitative research method (event data analysis) and qualitative methods. This empirical analysis demonstrates the emergence of labour activism in Japan in particular in the 2000s. My interest in labour activism in Japan also expanded to more recent period. I extended the quantitative analysis in acts of resistance up until 2014.

Based upon my interest in labour activism, I have also engaged in a study of comparative political economy of labour activism and social movement between Japan and UK. This research is demonstrated in a few papers I presented in international conferences.

Education

Doctorate
University of Birmingham
Completion date: 14/07/15 (part-time)

Publications

• Refereed journals Bailey, D. and Shibata, S (2014) ‘Varieties of contestation: The comparative and critical political economy of 'excessive' demand’’, Capital and Class 38(1): 239-251.

• Shibata, S. (forthcoming) ‘Resisting Japan’s neoliberal model of capitalism: intensification and change in contemporary class struggle’, British Journal of Industrial Relations.

Teaching

BA2 Introduction to Japan’s Political economy (PEIR Lecture)
BA3 The Politics, Economics, and International Relations of Japan (PEIR seminar)
BA International Studies: Economics East Asia
BA International Studies Macroeconomics
MA in Asian Studies: Political Economy of Contemporary Japanese Capitalism

Publications