Japan Transformed

Political Change and Economic Restructuring
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-0-691-13592-2
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 451 g

With little domestic fanfare and even less attention internationally, Japan has been reinventing itself since the 1990s, dramatically changing its political economy, from one managed by regulations to one with a neoliberal orientation. Rebuilding from the economic misfortunes of its recent past, the country retains a formidable economy and its political system is healthier than at any time in its history. Japan Transformed explores the historical, political, and economic forces that led to the country's recent evolution, and looks at the consequences for Japan's citizens and global neighbors. The book examines Japanese history, illustrating the country's multiple transformations over the centuries, and then focuses on the critical and inexorable advance of economic globalization. It describes how global economic integration and urbanization destabilized Japan's postwar policy coalition, undercut the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's ability to buy votes, and paved the way for new electoral rules that emphasized competing visions of the public good. In contrast to the previous system that pitted candidates from the same party against each other, the new rules tether policymaking to the vast swath of voters in the middle of the political spectrum. Regardless of ruling party, Japan's politics, economics, and foreign policy are on a neoliberal path. Japan Transformed combines broad context and comparative analysis to provide an accurate understanding of Japan's past, present, and future.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rosenbluth, Frances McCall

Thies, Michael F.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Transformationsprozesse (Politikwiss.)
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftspolitik, politische Ökonomie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Volkswirtschaften einzelner Länder und Regionen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Tables and Figures vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Abbreviations and Stylistic Conventions xv

Chapter 1: Why Study Japanese Political Economy? 1

Chapter 2: Japanese History and Culture 15

Chapter 3: Japan's Political Experiments 32

Chapter 4: The Old Japanese Politics, 1955-1993 53

Chapter 5: Japan's Postwar Political Economy 72

Chapter 6: Japan's New Politics 95

Chapter 7: Japan's New Political Economy 123

Chapter 8: Japan's Place in the World 155

Chapter 9: Conclusions 174

Epilogue: The 2009 General Election and the LDP's Fall from Power 186

Appendix 1. Japanese Electoral Systems, 1947-Present 193

Appendix 2. Election Results, House of Representatives, 1986-2005 195

Appendix 3. Election Results, House of Councillors, 1986-2007 201

Bibliography 207

Index 233

Über Autor(innen)

Frances McCall Rosenbluth is the Damon Wells Professor of International Politics at Yale University. Michael F. Thies is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.