Furthermore, with only brief references to the work of scholars like Shinoda Tomohito, the book skirts several signifi cant alternative explanations for Japan’s robust response to the DPRK missiles in 2006. For example, Shinoda wrote about how electoral reforms in 1994 and administrative reforms implemented from 1999 to 2001 to bolster the prime minister’s authority for policy initiatives and the cabinet’s knowledge and effi ciency facilitated the rapid passage of antiterrorism legislation in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. When discussing Koizumi’s leadership style (p. 47–48), however, Lee seems to attribute structural reforms to Koizumi, though they predate him. One wonders whether Koizumi’s leadership would have been as effective without the reforms and the changed global situation post-9/11 (see Okonogi’s comment on p. 59). Despite the abovementioned misgivings, I believe Japanese Society and the Politics of the North Korean Threat contributes to our understanding of the abductions issue, albeit mainly up until 2006. The book would work well in graduate-level courses on East Asian politics, international relations, and sociology, and the topic remains important. Especially because the abductees’ families are elderly, the Japanese government still prioritizes the issue. Prime Minister Abe Shinzō declared in March 2017 that he had mentioned the abductions issue more than fi ve hundred times in his meetings with foreign leaders. While Lee effectively documents Japanese public outrage over the abductions and changes in foreign policy, his argument about the link between the two would be stronger with an analysis of interest groups’ and political elites’ interactions with the media and attentive public. Ultimately, the parsimony of the book’s main argument and the book’s overall brevity are both strengths and weaknesses.

中文翻译：

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补偿圈：日本的经济增长和全球化 作者 Kent E. Calder

此外，该书仅简要提及了筱田智仁等学者的工作，回避了日本在 2006 年对朝鲜导弹的强烈反应的几个重要替代解释。例如，筱田写了 1994 年的选举改革和行政改革如何从1999 年至 2001 年期间，在 9 月 11 日对美国的恐怖袭击之后，加强总理在政策举措方面的权威以及内阁的知识和效率促进了反恐怖主义立法的迅速通过。然而，在讨论小泉的领导风格（第 47-48 页）时，李似乎将结构性改革归功于小泉，尽管这些改革早于他。有人想知道，如果没有改革和 9/11 后全球形势的变化，小泉的领导力是否会同样有效（见 Okonogi 对第 59 页的评论）。尽管有上述疑虑，我相信日本社会和朝鲜威胁的政治有助于我们理解绑架问题，尽管主要到 2006 年为止。这本书在东亚政治、国际关系、和社会学，这个话题仍然很重要。尤其是被绑架者的家属都是老人，日本政府还是把这个问题放在了优先位置。2017 年 3 月，安倍晋三首相宣布，他在与外国领导人的会晤中提到了五百多次绑架问题。虽然李有效地记录了日本公众对绑架和外交政策变化的愤怒，但通过分析利益集团和政治精英与媒体和关注公众的互动，他关于两者之间联系的论点会更有力。归根结底，本书主要论点的简洁性和本书的整体简洁性都是优点和缺点。