Political Change in Japan: Electoral Behavior, Party Realignment, and the Koizumi Reforms

In the past twenty years, Japan has undergone dramatic changes. Electoral reform has altered the relationship between politicians and voters, and Japan is increasingly a two-party system. The popularity of former prime minister Koizumi Junichiro highlighted the salience of telegenic party leaders. Amid so many shifts, it remains unclear whether such changes will stand the test of time and where Japanese politics is heading. However, it is not too early to assess the permanence and the direction of political change in Japan. Each chapter in this wide-ranging volume addresses a key political development in Japanfrom "stealing votes" to the constraints that women candidates face. Intended for scholars and students who study Japan, this timely volume also provides valuable reading for comparative political scientists. With contributions from some of the most distinguished scholars working on Japan today, Political Change in Japan seeks to answer the question: Was political reform in Japan a revolution or a flash in the pan?

Steven R. Reed is a professor of modern government at Chuo University in Japan, where all of his classes are taught in Japanese. His major areas of research are parties, elections, electoral systems, and Japanese politics.

Kenneth Mori McElwain is an assistant professor in the department of political science at the University of Michigan, where he studies the comparative politics of institutional design. His current book manuscript examines how partisan incentives influence the initial selection and subsequent manipulation of electoral systems, and how these choices can help unpopular governments to stay in power.

Kay Shimizu is an assistant professor in the department of political science at Columbia University. Her research concerns the political economy of development in Japan and China with a focus on financial reform, corporate governance, elections and grassroots politics.