On April 25, 2012 at the Institute of Korean Studies

"Health care policy and life sciences in Japan: the regionalization of domestic discourse?"

Summary of the talk
Health policy, unlike trade policy or security, has long been considered a domestic affair, particularly by members of the health policy community (health care providers, government, policy researchers, industry, and non-governmental organizations). Recent developments in Japan suggest a transformation, however, into a policy area increasingly involved in contentious debates about the extent of integration of Japan in the Asia-Pacific region. Both the nature of this link and the definition and boundaries of the Asia-Pacific are highly contentious--but the issue framing has shifted in this direction nonetheless. What is also new is the degree to which health and life sciences are framed as contributing to exports, trade and overall economic growth. This research seeks to explain this shift and its implications for regionalization in the Asia-Pacific region.

Biographic notes

Dr. Talcott received his PhD at Harvard University (Faculty of Arts and Sciences) in the field of Political Science in 1999.  His dissertation is titled “Why the Weak Can Win: Healthcare Politics in Postwar Japan”. His research interest are comparative public policy, Japanese domestic politics, and health care policy. Since 2009, he is working as an Advanced Research Fellow at the Institute of East Asian  Studies, Faculty of Cultural and Historical Studies, Freie Universität Berlin.

Time: 18:00 Uhr (6 pm)

Location: Institute of Korean Studies @ FU Berlin (Fabeckstraße 7, 14195 Berlin), Room 5 (Sitzungsraum)