Political Dynamics Of Japan And Japan

In Political Parties and Party Systems, Alan Ware summarizes the two main competing theories that attempt to explain party systems. First, the Sociological approach and then the Institutional approach. In order to comprehend his analysis it is necessary to realize that party systems are in a constant state of evolution, they do not remain stagnant. This evolution may, at times, be imperceptible and at others very noticeable, such as during a revolution; but the change is undoubtedly occurring. It is much easier to understand these theories if you view these two theories from a flexible standpoint as opposed to having a concrete beginning and end with exact delineations in between.

The United States’ and Japan’s political systems have some similarities and differences. The United States has a federal government, which in our textbook is defined as “a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments.” Japan has a unitary government which is defined as, “a centralized government system in which lower levels of government have little power independent of the national government.” Some of the similarities in the political systems are that both governments are broken into three branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial). Also, they both elect their political leaders, and value the opinion of their citizens and institutions to determine leaders. The

The 1955 system, time known as the one in which Japanese government was under the control of a one-party-dominated and conservative structure that lasted over nearly forty years, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) coming from the union of two conservatives parties: the Japan Democratic Party and Liberal Party, was a functional structure that showed a relative stability and consistency within the state against its opposition counterpart, the Japan Socialist Party (JSP).

The United States has maintained its two party system for some time, but the major parties have not always been so clearly separated. In the early and mid-twentieth century, polarization was actually declining, as there was much ideological overlap between the members of the two parties (Kuo). Many people, such as conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans, rested in the ideological middle. Additionally, each party represented a coalition of diverse interests. At

Political parties are critical structures in the modern society and universal phenomena in most democracies. In fact, they form major objects of intensive study as they are usually the centre of political and social power. They engage in most activities that are of significant consequence in the lives of citizens and link the common populace to the government. Therefore, it is important to understand political parties fully from every perspective of political systems so obtain their real importance in democracies. A political party is basically a group of citizens who converge as voters, activists, electoral candidates and office holders with a common party label and seek to elect party members into public offices. While modern political

Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been the majority party for more than 40 years uninterrupted, except in 1993 and 2009. In 1993, members of the party defected to form a new party, losing the majority control of the party, hence losing control of the government. This temporary loss of power gave reformers a chance at changing the Japanese political structure to include two main parties that regularly alternate power. In 2009 the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won the majority seats. The LDP took back the majority in 2012. During DPJ’s tenure in power, the devastating 2011 Japanese earthquake occurred. When Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko pushed through a controversial sales tax consumption increase bill through the National Diet. December of that year, the LDP was able to pressure Prime Minister Noda to dissolve the lower house, leading to the LDP gaining the majority. Then in 2013, the LDP reached majority in the upper house too, effectively taking back control of the government. The Diet has been lopsidedly dominated by the LDP over three or four other smaller parties that had practically no chance of controlling the government. However due to pressures from the LDP, the reformers were forced to compromise to retain certain aspects of the old system intact. Many experts believe that the electoral reform does not have a high chance of creating a two-party system that is like the US.

It could be argued, however, that the two party system which was once in place is declining, meaning more parties have a realistic chance to achieve role as government. In the last thirty years the support for the Conservative and Labour parties has been gradually decreasing, leaving them with only 67% of the vote at the 2005 general election, which was the smallest percentage they’d gained since 1918. This is an example of partisan dealignment because the working class started to transfer their party support to Conservative instead of Labour. The Liberal Democrats support was significantly increasing, leaving them with 22% of the vote in the 2005 election as well as 62 seats. Their seat numbers had been increasing since 1974 when they only had 14 seats in parliament, suggesting a change in the dominance of only two parties. Today, the Liberal Democrats, who haven’t been considered a main party since, are currently the weaker part of a coalition government, with Labour in opposition. This shows a clear end to the two party system, with three parties in significant places of power.

The author, John H. Aldrich, argues that the contemporary political party are not in decline. John H. Aldrich want us to believe that contemporary political party are not in a decline but, instead in transformation. John H. Aldrich give cases for both the importance of political parties and for weak and weakening parties.

After centuries of living in seclusion to the outside world, the government knew that they needed the technological advancements that the West offered. The Industrial Revolution and growing urbanisation in Japan had intended to and succeeded in mimicking Western growth. Moreover, the Japanese were well-known for their diligence, discipline, perseverance, and hard work – this resulted in substantial economic development including increased shipping of commodities and a significant expansion of trade and handicraft industries. However, the political elite pocketed most of the profits through influence and corruption. Workers and farmers found it unfair that their patriotic and back-breaking labour only received a little wage in comparison, but with a state-controlled media and education system, they couldn’t make their voices heard. So overall, this collective and nationalistic open-mindedness for communal prosperity was beneficial for Japan as a whole, but the common people were disadvantaged with no access to basic human rights and a fair

As society went through these changes brought about by economic and technological advances, people’s perceptions of their world began to change. They divided themselves along their visions for the future and found that the original party system did not exactly conform to their ideas because it was based in a time different from their own. While some of their concerns, such as

Parties are an important part of the political process; however, they do not have the same influence that they once enjoyed. One reason for this is the candidate-centered election that has come, in part, from the

Chapter 7 of the “American Government” textbook written by James Q. Wilson, professor at UCLA and Harvard University, and John J. DiIulio Jr., professor at the University of Pennsylvania, teaches about political parties including what they are, the history behind them, the current structure in both the national and state levels, and how they influence elections.

If party imbalance disorganizes dominant party minority party is pulverized. Minority doesn't fight. Young people gain dominant party, and second party goes national.

     Over the past fifty years Japan has seen significant changes in all aspects of its society and the way it interacts with the outside world. For example, despite suffering a defeat in World War II, Japan soon became one of Asia’s greatest economic powers. In Japan in Transformation, 1952 - 2000, Jeffrey Kingston focuses on various aspects of change in Japanese society and politics in the period after World War II. These include the effect of the US occupation, analysis of postwar politics, the economic boom, changes in demographics, the treatment of women, and foreign policy and security issues.