Welcome to Observing Japan
I first started a blog called Observing Japan in 2006, when I arrived in Japan to work on the staff of a member of the upper house of the Japanese Diet. Now on Substack, paid subscribers will receive:
A weekly review of the biggest stories in Japanese politics;
Analysis of new public opinion polls;
Periodic essays on major political stories.
Free subscribers will have access to occasional unlocked posts.
About Tobias Harris
I am a writer and analyst of Japanese politics who is the founder and principal of Japan Foresight LLC, a political risk advisory firm providing timely and forward-looking analysis of Japan’s politics and economic policymaking. During my career as an observer of Japanese politics, I have worked for a Japanese lawmaker; covered Japan as an analyst at political risk firm Teneo Intelligence; and has worked at think tanks, including the German Marshall Fund, the Center for American Progress, and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA.
I have written articles on Japanese politics for publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs, and appeared as an analyst on Bloomberg, CNBC , CNN, and the BBC.
Books
The Iconoclast: Shinzō Abe and the New Japan
My first book The Iconoclast: Shinzō Abe and the New Japan was published by Hurst in 2020, one day before Abe resigned as prime minister. A political biography of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, I wrote about how Abe formed his conservative worldview; how Japanese politics changed after the Cold War, creating an opportunity for Abe and other conservatives to change postwar institutions; and why Abe failed during his first premiership, how he reinvented himself, and what he did after he returned to power.
A revised paperback edition was published in October 2023, featuring a new introduction and new afterword discussing how Abe’s legacy changed after his resignation, including the impact his assassination in July 2022 has had on Japanese politics and how he will be remembered.
Reviews for The Iconoclast
‘Comprehensive and engaging.’ — The Economist
‘In exhaustive detail, [Harris] describes a career of setbacks, half-successes and frustrated ambitions.’ — The Times
‘The Iconoclast is a definitive, must-read biography of Abe, and will be the standard English-language work on his life and times for years to come.’ — The Japan Times
‘Journalists, scholars – anyone interested in the political evolution of the leading democracy of East Asia – will need to add The Iconoclast to the reading pile.’ — Asia Times
‘Reflecting on the past and speculating the future, the book contains rich insight about Japan under Abe’s government as well as in the coming post-Abe era, which will help us envision Japan’s future.’ — Nikkei Asia
Political Reform Reconsidered: The Trajectory of a Transformed Japanese State (as translator)
In 2023, I published with Springer a translation of a 2020 book by Machidori Satoshi, a political scientist at Kyoto University. Published in English under the title Political Reform Reconsidered: The Trajectory of a Transformed Japanese State, this book provides a thorough review of the political reforms of the Heisei era, including electoral reform, administrative reform, central bank reform, judicial reform, and local government reform.
For more about this book — including the afterword I wrote for the translation — please see here.
Japan Decides 2021: The Japanese General Election (as contributor)
I contributed a chapter on Abe’s legacy for Japan Decides 2021: The Japanese General Election, edited by Robert Pekkanen, Steven Reed, and Daniel Smith, the latest volume in the Palgrave series on Japan’s general elections. The chapter was written before Abe’s assassination but published after the assassination, but provides a useful snapshot of Abe’s power in the years after he resigned the premiership.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions to Observing Japan are $60 for an annual subscription or $6/month for a monthly subscription.
In addition to the access to exclusive post — including “This Week in Japanese Politics” — subscribers will be able to post in the Observing Japan chat.
Students with an email address from an accredited educational institution can get a subscription for $30 per year of $3 per month. Please use the button below to access the discount. Please contact me if you have any issues accessing the discount.
I am also offering group subscriptions to libraries and other institutions for $250 for an annual subscription. Please message me to arrange an institutional subscription.
I have also introduced a reader referral program. If you enjoy Observing Japan , it would mean a lot if you invited friends to subscribe. If you refer friends, you will receive benefits that give you special access to Observing Japan.
How to participate
1. Share Observing Japan . When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.
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Get a 1 month comp for 3 referrals
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