Tag: Liberal Democratic Party

The Story: There will be an election for members of Japan's lower house this weekend. But the consensus of informed observers is that once the...

Japan’s political landscape has undergone a major transformation over the past 30 years, as the 1955 system was swept away by extensive electoral and administrative reforms, and the LDP lost its uninterrupted grip on power. End of an Era This year marks the end of the three-decade-old Heisei era in Japan, as Emperor Akihito will abdicate in April. In the context of Japanese politics, though, the period that began in 1989 has been one of discontinuity and turbulence. Here, I will give an overview of the major political developments over the past three decades, identifying the factors, both external and institutional, that induced big changes and the consequences of those changes. Sweeping Changes at Home and Abroad By external factors, I am referring to major shifts in the international environment and Japan’s society and economy. While many different factors no doubt contributed to the realization of those reforms, the overriding challenge was to enhance the responsiveness of the political system in the face of the rapid and broad-ranging transfiguration of the post-Cold War world. The most prominent changes made to the political system were the electoral reforms of 1994 and the administrative reforms implemented mainly in 2001. The unchallenged authority Prime Minister Abe Shinz? enjoys in the LDP today is another example of the consolidation of power in the party president. Policy directions were determined not by Kasumigaseki but by the Kantei with the support of the chief cabinet secretary and specially appointed cabinet ministers, notably Takenaka Heiz?, who served as Koizumi’s minister of state for economic and fiscal policy and minister of state for financial services before he become a Diet member. A Challenge for the Next Generation of Leaders The institutional political changes made during the Heisei era have been sweeping, and yet they have not been enough to engender policies that are more effective and responsive to worldwide and social trends.