"This is a nuts and bolts textbook in the best sense of the term. ... It is bound to be a great boon both to teachers and students of contemporary Japanese politics." --from the Foreword by Haruhiro Fukui This timely volume is the first book in nearly twenty-five years to focus on the party system of Japan. In the past two decades, the Japanese political scene has undergone a dramatic transformation. What had been a two-party system proliferated during the 1960s and 1970s into a seven-party system. This book provides a comprehensive look at all of Japan's current major and minor national-level parties. For the first time in English, detailed analyses are presented on the Democratic Socialists, the Clean Government party (KÅmeitÅ), and the New Liberal Club. Thorough coverage is provided for parties in the "1955 System"--the ruling Liberal Democratic party and the two long-term opposition parties, the Socialists and the Communists. Many of the new miniparties that have appeared in recent elections are also discussed. Japanese Political Parties gives readers a solid understanding of party histories, leadership, and internal organization, as well as a look at prospects for the future. The party discussions are preceded by three chapters on the laws and political forces affecting Japanese politics. Chapter 1 describes the basic characteristics of the Japanese party system since 1945 and provides an overview of Japanese voting behavior and political values. Chapter 2 describes the "rules of the game"--the electoral laws--and discusses the ongoing political problem of malapportionment. Chapter 3 interprets data on political finance in contemporary Japan. Along with a wealth of information and interpretation, the authors offer insight into the common patterns Japan shares with democracies around the world, placing the Japanese system within the larger context of world party systems. Designed for courses on Japanese politics, this text should also prove useful to students of comparative politics and political parties.
Arguing that these political changes were evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the essays in this volume discuss how older parties such as the LDP and the Japan Socialist Party failed to adapt to the new policy environment of the 1990s.
This book presents an up-to-date analysis of the political parties that make up the Japanese party system and their impact on Japanese politics and government.
This book presents an up-to-date analysis of the political parties that make up the Japanese party system and their impact on Japanese politics and government.
The first two books under the title of The Japanese Party System were also published by Westview Press in 1986 and 1992. This book, Japan's New Party System, has a different purpose than the previous volumes.
This volume is an invaluable description of party politics in Japan, and a unique analysis of the influence that a changing balance of power has had upon the functioning of the Diet.
This volume discusess how older parties such as the LDP and the Japan Socialist Party failed to adapt to the new policy environment of the 1990s.
This book investigates Japanese politics in the postwar era from theoretical and comparative perspectives.
"This is a major contribution to the field. Its application of rational choice approaches to Japanese politics raises the level of discussion.
"This study reviews the events that have resulted in the fall and revival of the LDP [Liberal Democratic Party] and an assessment of the factors that have contributed to the...
This book explains why no opposition party has been able to offer itself as a sustained challenger in Japan.