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Political Corruption and Scandals in Japan
Matthew M. Carlson (Author), Steven R. Reed (Author)
9781501715655
Hardback, published 15 March 2018
204 pages, 5 tables, 2 graphs - 2 Graphs - 5 Tables, unspecified
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.907 kg
Carlson and Reed offer a persuasive argument that structural reforms adopted in 1994 have improved Japanese politics, with greater transparency helping the media in its ability to reveal—and thereby discourage—political scandal. A must-read for scholars of Japanese politics and those who study corruption in other places and times. The narratives give nuance to the analytical framework in dialogue with the evidence and bring forth newer types of scandals to give us a historically grounded and plausible assessment of how corruption evolved and was gradually transformed and reduced in Japan. This book is a tour de force, with an ambitious scope and complex analytical objectives.
Combining history with comparative politics, Matthew M. Carlson and Steven R. Reed take on political corruption and scandals, and the reforms designed to counter them, in post–World War II Japan. Political Corruption and Scandals in Japan makes sense of the scandals that have plagued Japanese politics for more than half a century and attempts to show how reforms have evolved to counter the problems. What causes political corruption to become more or less serious over time? they ask. The authors examine major political corruption scandals beginning with the early postwar period until the present day as one way to make sense of how the nature of corruption changes over time. They also consider bureaucratic corruption and scandals, violations of electoral law, sex scandals, and campaign finance regulations and scandals. In the end, Carlson and Reed write, though Japanese politics still experiences periodic scandals, the political reforms of 1994 have significantly reduced the levels of political corruption. The basic message is that reform can reduce corruption. The causes and consequences of political corruption in Japan, they suggest, are much like those in other consolidated democracies.
List of Figures and Tables
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Understanding Corruption in Japanese Politics
2. Scandals in Early Postwar Japan, 1948–1978
3. Scandals and Reform, 1979–2001
4. Scandals and Reform, 2002–2016
5. Bureaucratic Corruption and Political Scandals
6. Sex and Campaign Finance Scandals
7. Election Law Violations as Political Corruption
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Appendixes
A. Yen Exchange Rate per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1950–2016
B. Prime Ministers of Japan after 1945
Asahi's Investigation into Election Violations in the 1960s
References
Index