Newcastle University

Research Interests

Japanese politics, including political history, political thought, political parties and elections.

Comparative politics, especially in the areas of party politics, political business, and methods (statistics, case studies and hermeneutics).

Postgraduate Supervision

I am interested in supervising research students in all areas of Japanese politics (including political history). I would also be willing to be part of supervision teams on most aspects of comparative politics, especially comparative theory and methodology.

Undergraduate Teaching

Semester One
POL2033: Traditional East Asian Political Thought (module leader)

JPN4009:  Japanese Society in Post-war Cinema: Ghosts, Gangsters, Warriors

 Semester Two
POL2081: Quantitative Political Analysis (module leader)

Postgraduate Teaching

Semester One
HIS8055: Keywords in East Asian History Not running 2011-2012 

Semester Two
HIS8058: The History of East Asian Political Thought (module leader) Not running 2011-2012.

• Babb J, ed. Handbook of Japanese Studies. Sage, 2013. In Preparation.
• Babb J. Political Science and Japanese Studies. In: Handbook of Japanese Studies. Sage, 2013. In Preparation.
• Babb J. The New Generation of Conservatives in Japan. Japanese Journal of Political Science 2013. In Press.
• Babb J, Mannheim J, Rich R, Willnat L, Brians C. Empirical Political Analysis: An Introduction to Research Methods. London, UK: Longman, 2012.
• Babb J. The Seirankai and the Fate of its Members: The Rise and Fall of the New Right in Japanese Politics. Japan Forum 2012, 24(1), 75–96.
• Babb JD. Corruption and governance in Japan. In: Hook GD, ed. Contested Governance in Japan: Sites and issues. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005, pp. 174-191.
• Babb JD. Making farmers conservative: Japanese farmers, land reform and socialism. Social Science Japan Journal 2005, 8(2), 175-195.
• Babb JD. British labour and Japanese Socialists: convergence and divergence, 1945-1952. In: Daniels G; Tsuzuki C, ed. The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations 1600-2000: Social and Cultural Perspectives. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, pp.315-329.
• Babb JD. The inescapable web of structural corruption in Japan. In: Gomez ET, ed. Political Business in East Asia. London: Routledge, 2002, pp. 324-338.
• Babb JD. Two currents of conservatism in modern Japan. Social Science Japan Journal 2002, 5(2), 215-232.
• Babb JD. Business and politics in Japan. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001.
• Babb JD. Tanaka: The Making of Postwar Japan. Harlow, Essex: Longman, 2000.
• Babb JD. The precarious political balance in Japan. Asian Affairs 1999, 30(2), 154-163.
• Babb JD. The origins and nature of Japanese electoral reform. Representation 1996, 33(4), 155-161.
• Babb JD. Japan's Ministry of Finance and the politics of complicity. Review of International Political Economy 1995, 2(3), 536-560.