Download or read book Japan s Multilayered Democracy written by Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2014-12-24 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces a multilayered approach to the study of democracy, combining specific knowledge of Japan with theoretical insights from the literature on democratization. It examines different aspects of Japanese democracy—historical, institutional, and sociocultural—to provide a conscious understanding of the nature and practice of democracy, both in Japan and beyond. The book's chapters give testimony to the dynamic nature and continuity of Japanese democracy and analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The central argument of this book is that Japan’s democratization should be seen as a multilayered experience shaped by the gradual process of absorbing democratic ideas, forming democratic institutions, and practicing democratic behaviors and rituals at various levels of society. As the case of Japan shows, democracy is neither a structured formula nor only a set of democratic laws and institutions, but a continuous, gradual process.
Download or read book Japans Mulitlayered Democracy written by Galanti Levk GALANTI and published by . This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Theory Of Japanese Democracy written by Nobutaka Ike and published by Westview Press. This book was released on 1978-07-20 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Malfunctioning Democracy in Japan written by Yoshiaki Kobayashi and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many developed countries, democratic political systems have demonstrated significant shortcomings. Malfunctioning Democracy in Japan: Quantitative Analysis in a Civil Society, by Yoshiaki Kobayashi, investigates the causes of these problems via quantitative analysis, using Japan as a particular case study.
Download or read book Local Political Participation in Japan written by Dani Daigle Kida and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-08-06 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How Do Japanese Citizens Participate Politically? Most Japanese citizens, perhaps with a bit of a chuckle, would answer that ‘average’ Japanese do not participate in politics. While political attitudes in other countries have fluctuated corresponding to social, political, and economic climates of the times; in Japan, a consistently negative view of politics has persisted since the late 1960s. Japanese citizens perceive their government much more critically than citizens of neighboring countries. While many Japanese citizens participate in specific political acts such as signing candidate support cards, attending political rallies, or directly contacting politicians, they largely do not view these activities as political participation. Kida examines why this is the case; whether there is a connection between negative views of politics and how Japanese people self-identify their political participation; how Japanese citizens attempt to exact change or influence policy; how the government engages citizens in political participation; and the relationship between citizens’ attitudes towards government and levels of political participation. Kida explores political participation on the local level, to better understand the sources of political attitudes. While participation studies have been conducted in Japan, most are centered in large urban areas, focusing on either extreme forms of participation such as protests, or concentrated on single issue participation such as the environmental or women’s movements. This book, in contrast, explores what every day ‘regular’ in the system political participation looks like in a small traditional Japanese city – using Oita, a small city in Kyushu, as a case study. It focuses especially on the role local institutions and politicians play in influencing the kinds of participation available and subsequently, the attitudes created about participation.
Download or read book Growing Democracy in Japan written by Brian Woodall and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-06-17 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's third largest economy and a stable democracy, Japan remains a significant world power; but its economy has become stagnant, and its responses to the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 and the nuclear crisis that followed have raised international concerns. Despite being constitutionally modeled on Great Britain's "Westminster"-style parliamentary democracy, Japan has failed to fully institute a cabinet-style government, and its executive branch is not empowered to successfully respond to the myriad challenges confronted by an advanced postindustrial society. In Growing Democracy in Japan, Brian Woodall compares the Japanese cabinet system to its counterparts in other capitalist parliamentary democracies, particularly in Great Britain. Woodall demonstrates how the nation's long history of dominant bureaucracies has led to weakness at the top levels of government, while mid-level officials exercise much greater power than in the British system. The post--1947 cabinet system, begun under the Allied occupation, was fashioned from imposed and indigenous institutions which coexisted uneasily. Woodall explains how an activist economic bureaucracy, self-governing "policy tribes" (zoku) composed of members of parliament, and the uncertainties of coalition governments have prevented the cabinet from assuming its prescribed role as primary executive body. Woodall's meticulous examination of the Japanese case offers lessons for reformers as well as for those working to establish democratic institutions in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, China, and the new regimes born during the Arab Spring. At the very least, he argues, Japan's struggles with this fundamental component of parliamentary governance should serve as a cautionary tale for those who believe that growing democracy is easy.
Download or read book Political Life in Japan written by Takako Kishima and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To understand how change occurs in politics, we should turn from concentrating on intentional political actions to exploring everyday life, especially marginal frames of mind in which people are open to questioning existing ideas and institutions. In so contending, Takako Kishima offers fresh understandings of contemporary Japanese politicians and the Japanese political process, while she also proposes an innovative method of looking at politics in general. Kishima points out that taken-for-granted values and beliefs are revealed as arbitrary when people experience intrusions of the marginal, or "liminal." Social marginals, such as outcastes or so-called misfits, are the most likely people to invoke these intrusions, but more ordinary folk are also subjected to them under special conditions ranging from the seemingly trivial--daydreaming, dancing, or getting drunk--to the more profound--war, natural disaster, or ecstatic ritual. During an intrusion the flow of ordinary time seems to stop, and the utilitarian principles of commonplace existence are invalidated--as described by the chapter on Nakasone, "Shedding Tears: Suspension of Politics." Drawing on insights from phenomenology, symbolic anthropology, and post-structuralism, as well as from political science, Kishima shows that the prevalence of liminal experiences in society prevents the reification of authority, allows the transcendence of formal political differences, and permits political change over time. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book Democracy Without Competition in Japan written by Ethan Scheiner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains why no opposition party has been able to offer itself as a sustained challenger in Japan.
Download or read book Democracy in Japan written by Takeshi Ishida and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 1989 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following World War II, the American Occupation created Western style democratic institutions in Japan and sought to develop a society and culture that would support a democratic political system. Now, after four decades, the successes and failures of Japanese democracy can be assessed. How equal are Japan's citizens? To what extent are their views represented in the legislature? How does Japan handle dissent and protest? How stable is its democracy? In closely related and readable essays, thirteen leading experts consider three main components of democracy in Japan - political, social, and economic. The editors' introduction provides historical background, making this book accessible and valuable for students, the general reader interested in Japan, as well as the specialist.
Download or read book Social Networks and Japanese Democracy written by Ken'ichi Ikeda and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-06-12 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many who critique democracy as practiced in East Asia suggest that the Confucian political culture of these nations prevents democracy from being the robust participatory type, and limits it to a spectacle designed to create obedience from the public. Certainly some East Asian nations have had elections for decades, but for democracy to be meaningful, a country needs an active public sphere, political tolerance, egalitarian beliefs, and vigorous political participation. The Asian-values debate focuses on whether the creation of this optimal version of democracy in East Asian nations will be hindered by their shared Confucian cultural heritage and at the centre of this debate is whether there is an active political culture in East Asia that allows citizens to freely discuss, debate, and disagree about politics. With Japan as its focus, this book examines the role of social networks and political discussion in Japanese political culture and asks whether discursive participatory democracy is indeed possible in East Asia. In order to answer this question the authors undertook the largest academic political survey ever conducted in Japan to give the book exceptional empirical credence. This data reveals how the Japanese people interact politically, concluding that through the powerful influence of social networks on Japanese political behaviour, Japan has a more globalized and less hierarchical society where Confucian culture is not dominant and where creation of a vibrant civil society is possible. This book will be invaluable for students and scholars of Japanese politics, democracy, civil society, and globalization.
Download or read book Party Politics in Japan written by Ronald J. Hrebenar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-19 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Japanese political system is a parliamentary democracy and was the first western style government in Asia when the parliamentary system was adopted in the 1880s. It has a multiparty system, free elections, and a parliament that functions much the same way that any other democratic parliament functions, however for much of its existence the Japanese party system has been dominated by one party. This fact is crucial to understanding contemporary politics in Japan, especially since the long term ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, is once again back in power. This book presents an up-to-date analysis of the political parties that make up the Japanese party system and their impact on Japanese politics and government. Given that the executive branch is selected as a result of the pattern of party numbers in the parliament, to understand Japanese politics and policy, one must first know the nature of the ruling and opposition parties and their leaders. Indeed, in the past decade the quality of Japan’s government has been closely associated with the strengths and weaknesses of Japan’s prime ministers and the dominant party in the system. This book focuses on a central question: why Japanese politics and government has been so dysfunctional in the past two decades? With this question in mind, the chapters provide key background information on Japanese politics and political parties; discuss each of the major political parties that have governed Japan since 1955; and finally, examine the December 2012 House of Representatives elections that returned the LDP to power, and the differences between the First (1955-1993) and the Second Post War Party Systems (1993- ). Party Politics in Japan provides a comprehensive analysis of the past sixty years of Japanese party politics. As such, it will be of great interest to students and scholars of Japanese politics and Asian politics, as well as to those interested in political parties and political systems more broadly.
Download or read book Japan s Pseudo Democracy written by Peter J. Herzog and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-18 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rocked by scandals and accusations that crucial decisions are made by non-elected officials, Japan has been called a democracy in name only. Is it?
Download or read book Partners for Democracy written by Ray A. Moore and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1945 Emperor Hirohito signed Japan's unconditional surrender to the United States and its allies. Tackling a timely subject this work takes the controversial stand that the constitution of Japan was not imposed as a document of defeat.
Download or read book The Logic of Japanese Politics written by Gerald L. Curtis and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1999-08-27 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Widely recognized both in America and Japan for his insider knowledge and penetrating analyses of Japanese politics, Gerald Curtis is the political analyst best positioned to explore the complexities of the Japanese political scene today. Curtis has personally known most of the key players in Japanese politics for more than thirty years, and he draws on their candid comments to provide invaluable and graphic insights into the world of Japanese politics. By relating the behavior of Japanese political leaders to the institutions within which they must operate, Curtis makes sense out of what others have regarded as enigmatic or illogical. He utilizes his skills as a scholar and his knowledge of the inner workings of the Japanese political system to highlight the commonalities of Japanese and Western political practices while at the same time explaining what sets Japan apart. Curtis rejects the notion that cultural distinctiveness and consensus are the defining elements of Japan's political decision making, emphasizing instead the competition among and the profound influence of individuals operating within particular institutional contexts on the development of Japan's politics. The discussions featured here—as they survey both the detailed events and the broad structures shaping the mercurial Japanese political scene of the 1990s—draw on extensive conversations with virtually all of the decade's political leaders and focus on the interactions among specific politicians as they struggle for political power. The Logic of Japanese Politics covers such important political developments as the Liberal Democratic Party's egress from power in 1993, after reigning for nearly four decades, and their crushing defeat in the "voters' revolt" of the 1998 upper-house election; the formation of the 1993 seven party coalition government led by prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa and its collapse eight months later; the historic electoral reform of 1994 which replaced the electoral system operative since the adoption of universal manhood suffrage in 1925; and the decline of machine politics and the rise of the mutohaso—the floating, nonparty voter. Scrutinizing and interpreting a complex and changing political system, this multi-layered chronicle reveals the dynamics of democracy at work—Japanese-style. In the process, The Logic of Japanese Politics not only offers a fascinating picture of Japanese politics and politicians but also provides a framework for understanding Japan's attempts to surmount its present problems, and helps readers gain insight into Japan's future.
Download or read book The Japanese Party System written by Ronald J Hrebenar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-09 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is a nuts and bolts textbook in the best sense of the term. ... It is bound to be a great boon both to teachers and students of contemporary Japanese politics.” —from the Foreword by Haruhiro Fukui This timely volume is the first book in nearly twenty-five years to focus on the party system of Japan. In the past two decades, the Japanese political scene has undergone a dramatic transformation. What had been a two-party system proliferated during the 1960s and 1970s into a seven-party system. This book provides a comprehensive look at all of Japan’s current major and minor national-level parties. For the first time in English, detailed analyses are presented on the Democratic Socialists, the Clean Government party (KÅmeitÅ), and the New Liberal Club. Thorough coverage is provided for parties in the “1955 System”—the ruling Liberal Democratic party and the two long-term opposition parties, the Socialists and the Communists. Many of the new miniparties that have appeared in recent elections are also discussed. Japanese Political Parties gives readers a solid understanding of party histories, leadership, and internal organization, as well as a look at prospects for the future. The party discussions are preceded by three chapters on the laws and political forces affecting Japanese politics. Chapter 1 describes the basic characteristics of the Japanese party system since 1945 and provides an overview of Japanese voting behavior and political values. Chapter 2 describes the “rules of the game”—the electoral laws—and discusses the ongoing political problem of malapportionment. Chapter 3 interprets data on political finance in contemporary Japan. Along with a wealth of information and interpretation, the authors offer insight into the common patterns Japan shares with democracies around the world, placing the Japanese system within the larger context of world party systems. Designed for courses on Japanese politics, this text should also prove useful to students of comparative politics and political parties.
Download or read book Japan s Pseudo Democracy written by Peter J. Herzog and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-18 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rocked by scandals and accusations that crucial decisions are made by non-elected officials, Japan has been called a democracy in name only. Is it?
Download or read book Japan s International Democracy Assistance as Soft Power written by Maiko Ichihara and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan has increasingly emphasized democracy assistance since the mid-2000s, such that it now constitutes a major part of Japan’s foreign policy. This approach is an ostensible departure from the country’s traditional foreign policy stance, which tries to avoid bringing values to the forefront of foreign policies. This book intends to answer the questions of why Japan has started emphasizing democracy assistance and why it has relegated itself to a minor role in democracy assistance nevertheless. It argues that Japan’s emphasis on democracy assistance reveals its intention to increase its political influence with regards to China based on democratic values, and its usage of the term "democracy assistance" is a performative speech act to orchestrate a comprehensive approach for international democracy support. Shedding light on the novel aspect of Japanese policy, this book contributes to the understanding of Japanese foreign policy and democracy promotion. Providing the analysis that state’s speech act could cause to create foreign policies that counter what is predicted by structural realism, this analysis makes contributions to neoclassical realism which explains states’ foreign policy choices within the constraints of international structure.
