660 BC Founding of Japanese Empire

1852, 1854 Commodore Perry demands opening of Japan

1868 Meiji Restoration

1890 Diet established

1905—Russo-Japanese War

1937. Invasion of China

1941 Pearl Harbor

1945 Japanese Surrender to Americans; Occupation begins

1952 End of American Occupation

1993 First time LDP excluded from government

1994 Electoral Reform Law passes

Constitution

• Emperor is symbol of state but not divine
• Parliamentary system established
• Peace clause (art. 9)

Diet

Systems

1952-60 Polarized system –two major parties/groups Conservative (LDP) and Socialist (JSP). Socialists as defenders of Constitution while conservatives wanted to increase role of emperor, abolish peace clause, etc.)

1960-73 LDP Dominance. Characterized by higher growth rates, the fragmentation of opposition parties, and the moderation of the LDP. While many younger voters preferred the policies of the left, the fragmentation of the opposition left the LDP as the clearly dominant party.

1973-86 Electoral Challenges. While the LDP remained dominant during this period, it became clear that it was vulnerable due to changing attitudes within the society. Economic success created a new agenda of issues which the traditional LDP pow erbase had could not agree on. The LDP remained in power largely due to the failures of the left to coalesce, the moderation of the LDP on some high profile issues, and an electoral system that overstated the support for the LDP.

1986-Present. Realignment. As the LDP became discredited through various corruption scandals, LDP members withdrew from the party and established several other parties. This fragmentation of the party system resulted in several short-lived gove rning coalitions, including Socialist-led governments. It also allowed for reform of the electoral system.

Organization

Most Japanese parties employ some form of patronage relations. This was particularly noticeable with the LDP. The LDP was also characterized by factionalism, yet by strong party discipline. Most Japanese parties focus on the national rather than local level of organization. Many were also directly related to various unions.

Parties

The traditional Japanese election system pitted members of the LDP against each other; this resulted in frequent episodes of pork barrel politics. Candidates created their own organizations separate from the party. These organizations developed a life of their own and frequently they would recruit candidates for the Diet when leaders retired or died. The LDP promoted members to the ministerial level based on seniority. Obviously this has changed with non-LDP governments. The Party leadership within the LDP was determined by negotiation and competition between the major factions. But each LDP Prime Minister was to serve a limited term.

Because the LDP controlled government for so long, the interest groups developed characteristic "insider" or "outsider" strategies, depending on whether they were supportive of the LDP or not. Large businesses tended to use insider strategy since they had easy access to government via their LDP connections; agricultural organizations also were generally able to pursue insider strategies with some success. The comparatively small labor movement, associated with the opposi tion parties, utilized outsider strategies with the government, but frequently struck a cooperative posture with business.

Issues:

Examples: