Japanese Politics in the New Era
1997

This project focused on the theme of "Japanese Politics in the New Era," under the direction of Hideo Otake, professor of political science at Kyoto University and a leading scholar on Japanese politics. The project reflected an awareness of the difficult constraints that domestic politics often place on effective Japanese participation and leadership in international affairs. A group of ten young political scientists was divided into two teams, each studying the two fundamental systemic changes in Japanese politics since 1993: (1) the introduction of a new electoral system for the House of Representatives and (2) the emergence of coalition governments. Each team participated in monthly joint workshops with resource persons, including leading political figures, bureaucrats, political reporters, and senior academicians, in the course of their field studies.

The essays by the first team was published in 1998 in the volume listed below, titled How Electoral Reform Boomeranged. The essays by the second team, which focused on analyzing the impact of coalition politics on the policy-making process, was published in the volume titled Power Shuffles and Policy Processes, also listed below.

(This project is part of the Global ThinkNet Fellows initiative.)

Publications

• How Electoral Reform Boomeranged: Continuity in Japanese Campaigning Style, Hideo Otake, editor
• Power Shuffles and Policy Processes: Coalition Government in Japan in the 1990s, Hideo Otake, editor

Participants