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Multiple Choice Practice
Question

Administrative guidance in Japan has been






overseen by an elite bureaucracy recruited on the basis of
merit.
characterized by government subsidization of research and
development and targeting of tax breaks for specific industrial
sectors
key in facilitating the economy’s ability to move through the
product cycle, advancing from textiles, to automobiles, to
semi-conductors.
characterized by an “iron triangle” of bureaucrats, politicians,
and businessmen, contributing to major corruption scandals.
b, c, and d only.
all of the above.
Multiple Choice

Answer: all of the above
Question for today

When did Japan become a democracy?
Definition of democracy

Political Rights
 Opportunity
to participate in choice of political
leaders
 Voting rights
 Right to run for office

Civil Liberties
 Freedom
of speech, press, assembly, religion
 Trial by jury
 Protection against cruel government action
4
Question for today

When did Japan become a democracy?
 Note
the policy relevance of this question.
Political Development in Japan,
pre-WW II

Recall “Meiji Restoration,”
1868
 Group
of reformers
overthrew Tokugawa
regime
 Acted in name of emperor

Hence “restoration”
6
Political Development in Japan,
pre-WW II
Japan emulated advanced institutions in
the West
 Established new ministries

 Army

and Navy
1873 universal male military conscription
 Education

Ministry
Achieved universal primary education by 1907
Political Development in Japan,
pre-WW II


Japanese studied other
systems, ideas
1880s translation,
publishing


John Stuart Mill’s On
Liberty
Rousseau’s Social
Contract
http://www.pacificcentury.org/
meiji5.html
Political Development in Japan,
pre-WW II

Japan establishes democratic institutions
 Initial


goals
Strengthen legitimacy of government
Mobilize people in support of national goals
 Constitution

Established Parliament (Diet)



1889
House of Representatives
House of Peers
Males paying 15 yen in taxes can vote

Tax qualifications gradually lowered
Political Development in Japan,
pre-WW II

Achieves universal male suffrage 1925
Political development in Japan preWWII
Taisho Democracy
(1913-1932)




Constitutional monarchy
Parliamentary
government with prime
minister
Prime minister alternated
between two main
political parties
Universal male suffrage,
1925
11
Political development in Japan preWWII

Constitutional flaws
 Prime


minister and cabinet
NOT formally under parliamentary control
Power derived from emperor—not parliament
 Military

NOT subject to parliamentary (civilian) control
12
Political Development in Japan

Militarization and World War II
 Facilitated
by
Constitutional flaws
 Economic crisis: Depression—break down of trade

general  prime minister
 Imperial Rule Assistance Association
 Army

Intended to be single, nationwide popular
movement like
 Nazi Party in Germany
 Fascist Party in Italy
Post-WW II Japan


Defeat in WW II
US Occupation

Occupation reforms


“Article 9” = renounce war
Address constitutional flaws




Japan’s pre-war model-important

General MacArthur with Emperor
Parliament
Civil liberties
Emperor—ceremonial role
Polity: democracy, experience
with political party competition
Japan as an “Uncommon Democracy”
Domination by a single political party in
post-war, 20th C, democratic Japan:
 LDP
 Why?

Japan as an “Uncommon Democracy”

Sources of LDP Dominance
 Electoral
districts—rural bias
 Strong record of economic growth under LDP
until 1990s
 Single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system
(until 1994)
 Patronage / machine politics
 Koenkai (local support groups)
Japan as an “Uncommon Democracy”
Pressure for reform of political institutions
 Crisis in LDP-dominated system (1993)

 Corruption
scandals
 Slower economic growth
 Foreign pressure to open markets
Pressure for reform of political institutions

Coalition of small parties in House of
Representatives pushed through reforms:
 Reformed
electoral system
 Opened rice market to international imports
 Redistricted to reduce rural bias
Political Development in Contemporary
Japan
What is current design of electoral
institutions?
 Why?

Political Development in Contemporary
Japan

Electoral system reform (1994)
 House
of Representatives (480 seats)
 “Mixed” system
300 seats elected through single member districts
by first-past-the-post
 180 seats elected through multi-member districts
by proportional representation
 gives small parties “voice without power”

Proportional Representation (D’Hondt)
electoral rules: Example
Clean
Japan
GovernSocialist ment
Japan
Divisor /
Party
Party
Communist
Party
LDP
(JSP)
(CGP)
Independent Party (JCP)
1
327,000 122,000 95,000 81,000
17,000
2
163,500 61,000 47,500 40,500
8,500
Divisor /
Party
LDP
1
1st
2
2nd
Clean
Japan
GovernSocialist ment
Japan
Party
Party
Communist
(JSP)
(CGP)
Independent Party (JCP)
3rd
4th
5th
Reform of political institutions
Impact of new electoral system—NOT
revolutionary
 But by 1998, rise of a new party:
Democratic Party of Japan
 2003 DPJ “Manifesto”—party platform—
tried to move toward more programmatic
politics

Possible re-alignment in
Japanese politics?

Old-style political appeals
 Local
party machines (local support groups
called koenkai)
 LDP has dominated in this style of politics

Possible new-style political appeals???
 Ideologically
oriented (e.g. left-right, liberalconservative) party platforms
 DPJ is trying to compete on a party platform
(as with its 2003 “Manifesto”)
Rise of DPJ

DPJ strong showing
 In
2003 elections, DPJ made a strong showing,
establishing themselves as a credible opposition to
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and prompting
talk of Japan becoming a two-party political system.

DPJ self presentation
 DPJ
presented itself as the only party that could truly
reform Japan's economy and administration. …the
vested interests of the LDP members meant it would
never be able to do so.
 “Manifesto” vs. “koenkai”
 2003 election results
Results of 2003 Election to Japan’s
House of Representatives
Single-member
constituencies
LDP
168
DPJ
105
Komeito 9
JCP
0
SDP
1
CP
4
Others
13
Party
Proportional
Total
representation
69
237 (-10)
72
177 (+40)
25
34
9
9
5
6
0
4
0
13
480
LDP: Liberal Democratic Party;
DPJ: Democratic Party of Japan
Komeito: Clean Government Party; JCP: Japan Communist Party
SDP: Social Democratic Party;
CP: Conservative Party
Results of 2005 Election to Japan’s
House of Representatives
Party
LDP
DPJ
New
Komeito
JCP
SDP
Others
Single-member Proportional
Total
constituencies representation
219
77
296 (+60)
52
61
113 (-64)
8
23
31
0
1
20
9
6
4
9
7
24
480
LDP: Liberal Democratic Party;
DPJ: Democratic Party of Japan
Komeito: Clean Government Party; JCP: Japan Communist Party
SDP: Social Democratic Party;
LDP Leaders  Prime Ministers

Junichiro Koizumi




Shinzo Abe


2006- 07
Yasuo Fukuda


2001-06
Economic reformer
Resigned according to LDP
rules on term limits
2007- 08
Taro Aso

September 2008 -
Aso's woes
Jan 16th 2009
Realignment on the cards???
“…if the opposition DPJ were to win the
largest share of the vote in the general
election …this could produce a two-party
political system in which each of the major
contenders would be relatively unified
ideologically--and hence would offer voters
a real choice of policies.”
Results of 2009 Election to Japan’s
House of Representatives
Party
LDP
DPJ
New Komeito
JCP
SDP
Others
Single-member
Proportional
constituencies
Representation
64
55
221
87
0
21
0
9
3
4
12
4
Total
119
308
21
9
7
16
Change
(-177)
(+195)
(-10)
LDP: Liberal Democratic Party;
DPJ: Democratic Party of Japan
Komeito: Clean Government Party; JCP: Japan Communist Party
SDP: Social Democratic Party;
CP: Conservative Party
Prime Minister Naoto Kan at the House of
Representatives, February 2011
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