The End of LDP Dominance and the Rise of Party-Oriented Politics in Japan

Reed, Steven R.; Scheiner, Ethan; Thies, Michael

doi:10.1353/jjs.2012.0037

Cited by 83 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Previously, votterms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1598240800008043 ers had given great weight to the political experience of candidates, but as the party system became nationalized, elections became decided by voters' images of the LDP and DPJ as agents of change (Reed, Scheiner, and Thies 2012). With elections increasingly determined by party image, but not differences in policy, it becomes less likely that a new party in power will have a mandate to implement significant, specific change.…”

Section: The Sources Of Policy Stability Under the Dpjmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lipscy¹,

Scheiner²

2012

Journal of East Asian Studies

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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.

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Section: The Sources Of Policy Stability Under the Dpjmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lipscy¹,

Scheiner²

2012

Journal of East Asian Studies

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“…Scholars have shown how Japan's long‐ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) continues to redistribute wealth to rural towns in the periphery to gain support despite major institutional changes to Japan's electoral system some two decades ago (Horiuchi and Saito ). Even the arrival of Prime Minister Koizumi with an explicitly anti‐clientelist slogan (‘change the LDP, change Japan’) was counterbalanced by the DPJ's convergent policies which redistributed to disenfranchised groups in rural Japan (Reed et al ). In the very specific field of energy efficiency within Japan's transportation sector, clientelism has been similarly hard to erase (Lipscy ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It's Who You Know: Factors Driving Recovery From Japan's 11 March 2011 Disaster

Aldrich¹

2015

Public Administration

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The 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake affected dozens of coastal communities along the shore of Japan's Tohoku region. Following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns, utilities, businesses and schools in some towns have bounced back to pre-disaster capacity while other municipalities have lagged behind. The question of which factors accelerate the recovery of business, infrastructure and population after the disaster remains unanswered. This article uses a new dataset of roughly 40 disaster-affected cities, towns and villages in the area to identify the factors connected with recovery. More than tsunami damage, spending on disaster mitigation, population density, economic conditions or financial capability, the most powerful predictor of recovery for a given area is the number of powerful politicians representing the area in the national government. These findings bring with them important policy implications for residents, NGOs and government decision-makers.

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“…The DPJ emerged as the dominant opposition party in the late 1990s. The nomination of women was driven by leadership in 2009 (Gaunder 2009), and the success of women candidates was a result of the DPJ's overall popularity (Reed, Scheiner, and Thies 2012). The DPJ supported a larger number of female candidates for the Diet than the LDP in most election cycles.…”

Section: The Dpj and Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quota Nonadoption in Japan: The Role of the Women's Movement and the Opposition

Gaunder

2015

Pol & Gen

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In 2003, Japan's dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) committed to the goal of 30% female representation in management and political positions by 2020 to conform with the international norm to promote women's leadership. This nonbinding commitment received widespread media attention. In 2012, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe reemphasized this goal before the lower house election. Yet, in his first cabinet, Abe appointed only two women. Moreover, in the 2013 upper house election, the LDP fielded only 9 women out of 79 candidates, nowhere near the 30% candidate goal (Torres 2013). In September 2014, Abe appointed five new women in his cabinet reshuffle, two of whom were forced to resign a month later due to scandals. Four women currently sit on the cabinet due to one female replacement (Flackler 2014). Despite Abe's attempts to increase women in his cabinet, most agree that Japan is not on target to meet the 30% benchmark (Gender Equality Bureau 2012).

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The End of LDP Dominance and the Rise of Party-Oriented Politics in Japan

Cited by 83 publications

References 23 publications

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

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

It's Who You Know: Factors Driving Recovery From Japan's 11 March 2011 Disaster

Quota Nonadoption in Japan: The Role of the Women's Movement and the Opposition

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