Electoral Reform and National Security in Japan
From Pork to Foreign Policy

This book argues that Japanese politicians pay more attention to security issues nowadays because of the electoral reform.

Amy Catalinac (Author)

9781107546455, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 December 2017

266 pages, 23 b/w illus. 7 tables
23 x 15.3 x 1.5 cm, 0.41 kg

'As a reader, I was indeed reminded of one of the advantages of a book project, where a good amount of descriptive accounts can be added to supplement quantitative analyses. The author showcases deep knowledge and rich information on elections on the ground in contemporary Japan.' Kyohei Yamada, Social Science Japan Journal

Japan is the third-largest economy in the world and a key ally of the United States. Yet the determinants of Japanese security policy are not well understood. The question of why Japan never sought the independent military capabilities that would be commensurate with its economic power has puzzled scholars of international relations for decades. Applying new tools for the quantitative analysis of text to a new collection of 7,497 Japanese-language election manifestos used in elections between 1986 and 2009, this book argues that the electoral strategies politicians in the ruling party were forced to adopt under Japan's old electoral system made it extraordinarily difficult for them to focus on security issues and to change security policy. It was only when their electoral strategies shifted after electoral reform in 1994 that these same politicians became able to pay attention and change security policy.

1. Introduction
2. Electoral systems, electoral strategies, and national security
3. Measuring electoral strategies with thousands of candidate election manifestos
4. Electoral strategies shifted from pork to policy
5. Electoral strategies shifted to national security
6. Electoral strategies of opposition focused on policy
7. Impact on security policy
8. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Central government policies [JPQB], Political parties [JPL], Political structures: democracy [JPHV], Elections & referenda [JPHF]