Zenkyo Masahiro (Professor of Kwansei Gakuin University) vs Machidori Satoshi (Professor of Kyoto University) Going beyond the “political party of Osaka” ――The opposition Japan Innovation Party (JIP) has grown in the 2022 Upper House election and the 2023 unified local elections. Meanwhile, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost the by-election for Wakayama Constituency No. 1 in the lower house and the Nara Prefectural gubernatorial election. Other opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), are also stagnant. How do you analyze the current political situation and the reasons for the JIP’s growth?   Machidori Satoshi: I have come to see commentaries that the current political situation is a “neo 1955 System” similar to the former “1955 System[1]” where the LDP dominant-party system continued. However, despite the superficial resemblance, I believe that the current LDP is not as strong as before ... ... [Read more]

  Yoshihiro Kensuke, Professor, Momoyama Gakuin University   What is Osaka Ishin’s fiscal management? In the nationwide local elections held on April 9, 2023, Yoshimura Hirofumi and Yokoyama Hideyuki of the Osaka Restoration Association (Osaka Ishin no kai, hereinafter Osaka Ishin) were elected as Osaka Governor and Osaka Mayor, respectively. For 12 consecutive years since 2011, the heads of Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City have been chosen from Osaka Ishin. Moreover, in the Nara Prefectural gubernatorial election, Yamashita Makoto, an official candidate of Osaka Ishin, became the first to be elected in an election outside of Osaka Prefecture, revealing that support for Osaka Ishin has spread in the Kinki region.[i] Osaka Ishin held two referendums in 2015 and 2020 to gauge support for the Osaka Metropolis Plan. Both referendums were narrowly voted down, signaling the end of what has been a hallmark policy for ... ... [Read more]

  Kohno Masaru (Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University) and Washio Takumi (19th-class student of the Kohno Masaru Seminar, School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University)   “Online campaigns” became allowed in 2013, but how has politicians’ use of social networking services affected elections? If politicians can communicate effectively with voters through social networking services, it will lead to a healthy development of democracy. The relationship between use of social media and vote share Since the 2013 amendment of the Public Offices Election Law to allow “online campaigns,” many politicians in Japan have, belatedly, begun to utilize social networking services (hereinafter “social media”) for electoral purposes. But no study has yet to show clearly whether and how social media benefit politicians in important elections at the national level. As such, we have surveyed the activities of politicians who ran as candidates ... ... [Read more]

  Shimada-Logie Hiroko, Professor, School of Government, Kyoto University   In many countries since the 19th century, success stories have been sought from other countries whenever dissatisfaction with their own bureaucracy grows. During the Heisei reforms of the civil service system in Japan, which ended in the centralization of executive personnel affairs, there were frequent references to models in other countries to be emulated, like “In the United States, you can come and go freely through the revolving door between the public and private sectors” and “Politicians can freely replace executive bureaucrats in Germany and France.” However, if we are to design a bureaucracy that functions in our society, it is necessary, before importing pieces from other countries, to delve into questions like “What role do we want bureaucrats to play in relation to politics?” and “Can we secure the desired human resources in ... ... [Read more]

  Yoshida Jun, Professor, Kyoto University Impressions of the Self-Defense Forces To begin with, please take a look at the list in Table. This list shows the top ten works most commonly mentioned in response to the question “If there are any novels, manga, anime, movies, or dramas [omit] that have greatly influenced your impressions and opinions about Japan’s defense system and the Self-Defense Forces (SDFs), please list them — as many as you like.” The Study Group on Military Culture, which is made up of sociological and historical researchers, conducted an “Awareness Survey on Self-Defense Forces” in January and February 2021 and received responses from approximately 2,000 people across Japan (Study Group on  Military Culture, “Report on How Japanese Society Views Self-Defense Forces ‘Awareness Survey on Self-Defense Forces’” (Seikyusha, 2021)). Table 1 shows some of these responses. The fact that Umizaru (Sea monkeys), ... ... [Read more]

  Ohi Akai, Adjunct Lecturer, Hiroshima Institute of Technology   Thirty years have passed since the political realignment in 1993. Having seen the political upheaval over the last three decades, the time has come to analyze contemporary political history, and the owl of Minerva is set to take its flight. In this article, I propose a framework to understand contemporary Japanese politics through the following three issues. First, the 1993 political realignment and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) split shifted Japan’s political confrontation from a dichotomy of “conservatism vs progressivism” to a tripolar structure of “conservatives/former progressives/neoliberals” (1993 System). Second, in current Japanese politics this tripolar structure comprises the “LDP and Komeito coalition/opposition parties (Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan [CDPJ], Democratic Party for the People [DPP], Social Democratic Party [SDP], Japanese Communist Party [JCP], Reiwa Shinsengumi [Reiwa])/Japan Innovation Party [JIP],” with power relations among ... ... [Read more]

  Hosoya Yuichi, Professor, Keio University   If Yoshida Shigeru (1878–1967) laid the foundation for Japanese diplomacy after World War II, it was the former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo who updated it to a post-Cold War Japanese foreign policy. The politician who made the post-Cold War Exactly 60 years ago, in September 1962, political scientist and Kyoto University assistant professor Kosaka Masataka (1934–1996), returned from his studies at Harvard University, and was staying at the International House of Japan (IHJ) in Tokyo. IHJ research director Royama Michio (1928–2009) contacted Kasuya Kazuki (1930–2014), editor-in-chief of Chuokoron, and recommended that he meet with the young political scientist. Immediately, Kasuya got in contact with Kosaka, who was around the same age, and arranged for a meeting. After meeting and hitting it off with Kosaka, Kasuya asked him to write a manuscript, which became the opening article in ... ... [Read more]

  Professor Uno Shigeki (University of Tokyo) vs Professor Nakakita Koji (Hitotsubashi University) Reflecting on the Upper House election in July 2022 Uno Shigeki: The Upper House election in July produced a landslide for the ruling coalition, but since the rate of votes obtained by proportional representation has been decreasing little by little with each election, one would have to say that rather than overwhelming support winning the day for the ruling coalition, the opposition parties have self-destructed. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), in particular, has kept its position as the leading opposition party in terms of the number of parliamentary seats, but in terms of proportional representation, it has been overtaken by the Japan Innovation Party (JIP). The present Upper House election should have been one election, but to me it appears as if two games played out. For the Liberal ... ... [Read more]

  Shimizu Yuichiro, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University On July 8, I was in Nagano City in Nagano Prefecture on a research business trip when I heard reports about the assassination of the former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. I had seen a notice on a poster for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates on a noticeboard for the Upper House election. The notice said, “16:55 Nagano Station Speaker Former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.” I noted the date in my diary to take the opportunity to hear him. However, the speech in Nagano was canceled and Abe went to support another candidate at Nara City where the incident took place. As if to muffle the indescribable feelings, something that happened 101 years ago came to mind. On November 4, 1921, Prime Minister Hara Takahashi (1856–1921), the “Commoner Prime Minister,” was stabbed to death ... ... [Read more]

  Taniguchi Masaki, Professor, University of Tokyo   Key points The impact of Abe’s absence on the administration is uncertain. Leaving government debt and population decline unchecked will be fatal. There is an urgent need for the CDPJ to restore trust in its economic policies.   Media coverage reported that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was in the lead from the beginning of the election, and the results were generally as expected. But the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, which occurred two days before election day, sent shockwaves through the domestic and international communities. Even if the motives were not political, this heinous act undermined Japanese democratic politics and as such should be categorically condemned. The impact of the tragic events will be reflected in post-election politics. As a hawkish debater, Abe led LDP conservatism from the mid-2000s. The figure shows the ... ... [Read more]