This dissertation investigates the syntax of possession in Japanese within the framework of the Minimalist Program. A primary focus is on the question of how possessive semantics is represented in syntax at the sentential level when there seems to be no designated verb of possession - specifically, in possessives with verbs aru be.inanimate, iru be.animate and suru do. Takae Tsujioka seeks the source of possessive semantics in the nominal domain. Adapting Szabolcsi's (1994) analysis of Hungarian possessives, the author proposes that possessive sentences with aru and iru are derived from...