Japan's Postal Privatization Battle: The Continuing Reverberations for the Liberal Democratic Party of Rebels-Assassins Conflicts

Asian Survey ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-625
Author(s):  
Matthew Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Lower House ◽  
House Election

Abstract This article argues that the use of campaign finance regulations and electoral rules by political parties significantly shaped the results of the 2005 general election and the battle over postal privatization in Japan. How the Liberal Democratic Party responds to the reverberations of the conflict between the so-called ““rebels”” and ““assassins”” is likely to affect its electoral fortunes in the next lower house election.

Japan in 2008: A Prelude to Change??

Asian Survey ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Arase
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Lower House ◽  
Current Term ◽  
House Election

Events in 2008 suggest that the Koizumi era is over and the Liberal Democratic Party will lose the lower house election that must be called before its current term expires in September 2009. The Democratic Party of Japan became the favorite to win the election and laid out the new domestic and foreign policy directions in which it will take Japan.

Electoral Reform and the Costs of Personal Support in Japan

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
The Core ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Support Organizations ◽  
Rule Change

How does the choice of electoral rules affect politicians' incentives to campaign on the basis of personalized support? This article examines to what extent the adoption of new electoral and campaign finance rules affects the incentive of politicians in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party to rely on personal support organizations calledkoenkai.The core of the analysis utilizes newly collected campaign finance data. The empirical analyses confirm a considerable weakening in the number of koenkai across systems as well as a decreased need for politicians to spend money in the proportional representation tier. These results highlight the importance of previous organizational legacies as well as the efforts of political actors to mitigate the effects of rule change on their election and reelection prospects.

scholarly journals Japan Under the DPJ: The Paradox of Political Change Without Policy Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Y. Lipscy ◽  
Ethan Scheiner
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Rural Regions ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Liberal Democratic

In 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) brought an end to the long reign of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). However, despite high expectations, this politically transformative event has not unleashed significant policy change in Japan. We highlight five electoral factors that have acted as important constraints on policy change under DPJ rule. First, majoritarian electoral rules have led to a convergence in the policy positions of the two major political parties. Second, as the parties' policy positions have become more similar, voters have increasingly cast ballots based on “valence” (i.e., nonpolicy) evaluations. Third, large national vote swings have limited the tenure of young, inexperienced candidates who might otherwise serve as the instigators of reform. Fourth, Japan's electoral rules permit inconsistency across policy positions within parties and discourage greater policy coherence. Fifth, the continuing influence of rural regions has limited the scope of policy reform under the DPJ.

The Legislative Record: The Japan National Diet in 2004

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-330
Author(s):  
JUNKO HIROSE
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Major Party ◽  
Japanese Politics ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
House Election

The general election in November 2003 and the Upper House election in July 2004 indicate that the Japanese politics is going from a one party dominant toward a two major party system. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) narrowly keeps a majority in both Houses by merging the New Conservative Party and by forming a coalition with New Komeito.

Japan in 2007: A Divided Government

Asian Survey ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristi Govella ◽  
Steven Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
Divided Government ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Lower House ◽  
House Election

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a stunning defeat in the July 2007 upper house elections, creating an unprecedented situation in which the LDP-led coalition lost its majority in the upper house while retaining a two-thirds majority in the lower house. In this new environment of ““divided government”” Japanese style, the LDP and the opposition jockeyed for advantage in foreign and domestic policy debates while preparing for a critical confrontation in the next lower house election.

Japan in 2009: A Historic Election Year

Asian Survey ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Arase
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Political System ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Lower House ◽  
House Election ◽  
The U.S

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) defeated the Liberal Democratic Party in a lower house election, ending its 54-year reign. The DPJ began bold steps to democratize Japan's political system and reconsider the country's position vis-àà-vis the U.S. and Asia.

The DPJ and Women: The Limited Impact of the 2009 Alternation of Power on Policy and Governance

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisa Gaunder
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Lower House ◽  
House Election ◽  
Veto Points

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) saw forty of its forty-six female candidates elected in the 2009 lower house election; twenty-six were first-time candidates. Recently, both the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the DPJ have supported more women as “change” candidates in response to changing electoral incentives that favor broad appeals. The DPJ's victory, however, has not had a large impact on women in terms of governance or policy. An exploration of child allowance, day care provision, and dual surname legislation under the DPJ reveals that low seniority and the lack of a critical mass have prevented DPJ women from overcoming significant veto points. The electoral incentives of the emerging two-party system have resulted in a larger number of women in office, but the volatility of the system has sustained a weak voice for women in policymaking.

scholarly journals Electoral incentives, policy compromise, and coalition durability: Japan's LDP–Komeito Government in a mixed electoral system

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam P. Liff ◽  
Ko Maeda
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Japanese Politics ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Coalition Politics ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Mixed Electoral System

AbstractPolitical parties’ behavior in coalition formation is commonly explained by their policy-, vote-, and office-seeking incentives. From these perspectives, the 20-year partnership of Japan's ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its pacifistic Komeito junior coalition partner is an anomalous case. The longevity, closeness, and nature of their unlikely partnership challenges core assumptions in existing theories of coalition politics. LDP–Komeito cooperation has sustained for two decades despite vastly different support bases and ideological differences on fundamental policy issues. LDP leaders also show no signs of abandoning the much smaller Komeito despite enjoying a single-party majority. We argue that the remarkable durability of this puzzling partnership results primarily from the two parties’ electoral incentives and what has effectively become codependence under Japan's mixed electoral system. Our analysis also demonstrates that being in a coalition can induce significant policy compromises, even from a much larger senior partner. Beyond theoretical implications, these phenomena yield important real-world consequences for Japanese politics: especially, a far less dominant LDP than the party's Diet seat total suggests, and Komeito's remarkable ability to punch significantly above its weight and constrain its far larger senior partner, even on the latter's major national security policy priorities.

Constitution will overshadow Japan election campaign

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
House Election ◽  
Voting Age ◽  
First Time

Subject The outlook for legislation and party politics ahead of the July upper house election. Significance Now in his fourth year as prime minister, Shinzo Abe enjoys strong public support and faces no serious challenger. In an upper house election in July, his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) hopes to capture enough seats to call a referendum on revising the constitution -- Abe's ultimate political aim. Impacts Abe will use Japan's hosting of the G7 summit in May to present himself as a world statesman. A new emphasis on welfare and social inclusion will not come at the expense of the LDP's traditional pro-business policies. TPP ratification is likely before May. With the voting age lowered for the first time to 18, the more socially progressive but less pacificist youth vote becomes more important.

scholarly journals For Japan, Better Late than Never

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Gerding ◽  
Zach Montague
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Us ◽  
Asian Economies

The Japanese general election on August 30, 2009 ousted the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had governed almost uninterrupted for 54 years. In its place rose the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and its leading man Yukio Hatoyama. What follows is a brief profile of the DPJ’s main economic challenges and policies, succeeded by the chief points of contention in the DPJ’s interpretation of Japan’s alliance with the US, the invariable focus of which is military. Now, Japan finds itself at a crucial junction to reassert itself as a regional leader in Asia, whether military or civilian, and it can only do this gracefully by maintaining a relatively undisturbed rapport with the US in economic and military matters. Japan also needs to increase its presence in the Asian economies and, possibly, Asian military affairs, a policy that the US would condone.

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