Understanding of the political system of Japan is critical for understanding the major interests of this country and forecasting its behavior. Since the 1950s until the early 2000s the Liberal Democratic Party remained in power. But in the 21st century, it was temporarily ousted by other political forces. In 2012, it regained power and is ruling party in Japan now. What are the reasons behind the LDP’s domination? I will try to explain it not going deep into history but illustrating the most recent developments in Japanese policy.
The result of the Japanese parliamentary elections of 16 December 2012 is, at first sight, paradoxical: it is in Fukushima has launched a campaign that demonstrated the return to power - with a large majority – of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), large conservative and pro-nuclear training force. The alternation "historic" one that saw the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a parliamentary majority in 2009 and end the almost permanent domination of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan since 1955, belongs to the past. The disappointment was in the hopes that the latter had raised. Yoshihiko Noda, the third prime minister in just over three years, had beautiful postpone the dissolution promised to the opposition for nearly a year, the fall of his party in the polls has continued inexorably. The defeat was clear: the Democratic Party that no longer has 57 MPs against 294 for the Liberal Democrats. The new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, therefore, has a free hand to implement his conservative and nationalist program. But this return of the Liberal Democratic Party should not hide the current recomposition. Next to a sclerotic political class for years, new parties have tried to upset the electoral offer. This sap flow is akin to the excitement that Japan has known 1993, although the majority voting system, in force since 1994, this time, protected installed parties. To understand the ins and outs of the pivotal period that run through Japanese politics, we will look at first the failure of the Democratic Party in power, and thus alternate then we will focus on the excitement that has favored before finishing on the victory of the Liberal Democratic Party in December 2012.
FAILURE ALTERNATION
The voting system introduced in 1994 has not produced the expected results. In the late 1990s, many Japanese - especially via the major unions - fought for a change to the voting system they saw as the first step in political reform. To opt for majority voting would allow, according to them, to renew the political class fixed by the unbroken domination of the Liberal Democratic Party since 1955. In fact, if one refers to the famous law of Duverger 3, a change in the way ballot was to emerge an alternative policy option, which would bring new blood and encourage a healthier financial management, essential after the bursting of the speculative bubble and the many scandals of the late 1980s.
This majority voting was adopted in 1994, and the alternation will take place fifteen years later. The Democratic Party, founded in 1996, has gradually consolidated the existing small political formations, to be a force equivalent to the Liberal Democratic Party. However, if the change has occurred in 2009, the sociology of the body politic has not changed. These are mainly former Liberal Democrats that are found in the structures of the Democratic Party. With the aim of taking power, no alliance has been overlooked, including more contractures in appearances. Former socialists tolerated the coming of neoconservative hawks, as Ichiro Ozawa and his Liberal Party, or the alliance with the dinosaurs of the People's New Party. The only novelty brought by the Democrats, a great social program reforms, was quickly rolled by the lack of professionalism of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has led to the loss of the Senate ten months after taking office. In a system where it is impossible to govern without the support of both houses of parliament, the party then found himself unable to implement promised reforms. Such a dead star that we always see the light, alternation was already over. The Democratic Party has gradually relinquished all his reform ambitions, to satisfy a Liberal Democrats locked in a systematic opposition posture. The alternation has solved neither the problem of instability of leadership nor that of the non-renewal of governance. On the eve of the poll of 2012, the Democratic Party emerged as the symbol of this political elite centered on its infighting that as the agent of the return of the people he had promised to be in 2009. Many of its leaders stuck in a cycle-scandal resignation return (e.g. the justice minister, Keishu Tanaka, forced to step down after the revelation of his links with yakuza) and could not easily inspire confidence to the citizen (Hori, 87). For many years, the Japanese are accustomed to seeing the same faces in different labels. The latest example: that of Makiko Tanaka, former Minister Koizumi Government of Foreign Affairs (Liberal Democratic Party) and daughter of Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (incarnation of clientelism 1970). She joined the Democrats a few days before the alternation and became Education Minister in October 2012, to try to restore the reputation of his party who knows many defections. In 2012, the party has seen defections. Heterogeneity, accepted when allowed to win, became unbearable as was looming defeat. Many defections have been registered. The Democratic Party is artificially maintained in power for more than a year, Prime Minister promised the opposition of impending elections without ever announcing the date. In September 2012, the support rate at Noda Cabinet had fallen below the 20%. The Prime Minister finally dissolved the Assembly on 16 November 2012. In order to avoid the implosion, the Democratic Party has asked its candidates to sign a pledge of loyalty and a programmatic charter. This had little to do with the project in 2009. Formerly a partisan stimulus policy and welfare without raising taxes, the party is now, after several years of power, the flagship of rigor budget and the VAT increased. Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister and co-founder of the party, also preferred to leave politics rather than condoning these turnovers.
The EFFERVESCENCE POLICY
Far from boosting a renewal of the political class, the 1994 voting system made it more difficult entry into the political market. The Japanese voter has gradually been locked in a binary choice LDP-DPJ who gradually lost relevance due to programmatic turnaround Democrats. However, from 2009, new courses were created for renewed political offer. All built on the same model, they play the people against the political and administrative elites, are organized around a charismatic leader and media (from the elite) and skillfully use communication techniques. They have a simple, divided into several themes embodied in the proposals that the dualism concrete-abstract proposition principle, dear to political marketing. These parties are often described as populist, a concept that has never been more popular today on the Archipelago. The attack against political sclerosis and those who embody a former political strategy, now expanding. The success of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in this exercice14 may have uninhibited most ambitious. After the announcement of the dissolution of the Assembly in 2009, Yoshimi Watanabe and some other parliamentarians left the Liberal Democratic Party to found the Party of all, the program revolves around the decreasing administration (Uyehara, 245). In July 2012, the "shadow shogun of" Ichiro Ozawa - who was secretary general of both the Liberal Democratic Party (1989 to 1991) and the Democratic Party (2006 to 2009) - leaving the Democrats with 49 parliamentarians (37 deputies and 12 senators) to found his own band, whose name can mean the life of citizens first. This is firmly opposed to the increase in VAT and calls for a quick exit from nucléaire16. October 25, 2012, the very nationalistic and right-wing governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara17, aged 80, has resigned in order to create the Party of the Sun from a panel appointed Standing Japan founded by five parliamentary Liberal Democratic Party, in April 2010. She heard restore the pride of the country by promoting, among others, the nationale18 culture. His goal now is the implementation of a constitutional reform that would include Japan the right to dispose fully of its army, an operation that can not be accomplished at the Diet. Finally, on 28, July 2012 was founded the Green Party from the association Green Future created in 2008. Despite the Fukushima disaster and the anti-nuclear activism that it followed, the Greens are struggling to get a place in the Japanese political landscape. Indeed, they have limited financial resources and ability to form alliances remains low (Burden, 346-356). The political turmoil was primarily local. Autonomy gradually gained the last twenty years thanks to decentralization policies baronies now provides the means to challenge the central government. Leading the way his opponents is the man most popular politician in the country for many months , Toru Hashimoto. A lawyer by training, he became known by providing his legal advice in a TV show from 2003 to 2007. Elected governor of Osaka in 2008 with the support of the Liberal Democratic Party, it is now mayor of the city. His local party, the Association for the Restoration of Osaka became national by becoming the Japan Restoration Party in September 2012, with the support of seven parliamentarians. Toru Hashimoto plans to use his media charisma to serve a radical agenda, including the removal of the Senate, the decreasing number of MPs and the election of Prime Minister by general suffrage. It also has the support of future graduates of political Restoration Institute that opened on March 24, 2012, Osaka to train the leaders of tomorrow. For its part, the mayor of Nagoya, Takashi Kawamura, established in 2010 Japan for the reduction of taxes to sustain its promise to lower taxes 10% of the city. He now intends to anchor its national party and it promises to reduce the number of parliamentarians and have the benefits they receive. In this time of economic crisis, the remuneration of elected officials is at the heart of discussions on the need for consolidation of finance. Finally, the Governor of Aichi, Hideaki Omura, also founded his party in August 2012 the Association for the Restoration of Chukyo, supported by the popular former governor of Miyazaki ( 2007-2011), Hideo Higashikokubaru, former comic.
THE RETURN OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY
These new parties clashed or gathered during the December 2012 elections Despite their high number, the campaign has not attracted voters (the abstention rate exceeded 40%). It was generally disappointing, as marked by a generalized blur as projects and social choices. Another cause of disinterest if new parties are certainly stepped in, subjects who monopolized the news have not, themselves, not changed: nuclear energy (its long-term future and restarting reactors short term), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) 29 and up or not of VAT. All parties have to position themselves on these three subjects and favored the opposition or ambiguity (Christensen, 128). In the end, despite a deteriorating picture for years, the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power, as a default, with a large majority. Leading in the polls for more than two years, his victory was expected. In terms of seats, he took full advantage of the majority bonus. In the 300 constituencies that elect their deputies in uninominal a turn, the Liberal Democratic Party won 43% of the vote and 79% of the seats. Conversely, the Democratic Party won only 9% of the seats with 23% of votes. The report is more balanced about 180 positions obtained proportional list system, despite a slight premium to the leading parties. The Liberal Democrats also benefited from a stronger local base than its competitors: the proportional system, it gets "only" 28% of the votes (against 43% majority vote). The local candidate's personality seems to have had more weight than the label of the party nationally. In total, the conservative training collects over 60% of the seats and therefore can govern alone. If we add the results of its faithful allies of the Komeito, the Liberal Democrats have 325 seats out of 480, or nearly 70%. New parties were therefore not able to prevent the resurgence of the Liberal Democratic Party. Considering the electoral system (majority), only the union could lead to success. But instead of forming a broad coalition, it had managed to make the Democratic Party in 2009, new courses are presented are divided into two groups without any real programmatic logic. Elections are thus played between four poles: the DPJ and its allies, the PLD and its allies, Japan Restoration Association and a named party of the future coalition.
The alliance formations that we rank in France on the far right got 72 MPs, making it the first opposition force, before the former Democratic majority. This coalition consists of the restoration Association of Japan Toru Hashimoto, combined with Shintaro Ishihara of the sun's Party and the Party of all. Both men initially disagreed on key campaign issues: nuclear - Ishihara supports maintaining and Hashimoto to a reduction - the VAT increase - Hashimoto is opposed; Ishihara is if the finance Social Security - and the Trans-Pacific Partnership - Hashimoto is rather favorable so qu'Ishihara resolutely against. A compromise has yet been reached on November 17: the coalition took over the name and program of the Japan Restoration Association Ishihara but placed at its head. As Saint-Denis, so it has separated from the body head. The block of the future of the Party, very heterogeneous and marked left, did not meet with the same success. November 28 was announced the creation of the coalition, led by ecologist governor of Shiga, Yukiko Kaga. It brings Life of Citizens First led by Ichiro Ozawa and Japan to reduce taxes, Takashi Kawamura. The future of the Party bases its unity in strong opposition to nuclear power, but it failed to offer a credible energy policy. Despite a fertile ground - public opinion is largely anti-nuclear -, his speech has not reassured the Japanese. Ultimately, the coalition won only 11 seats. The Communist Party, which stood alone, got eight deputies. The election was heralded as the collapse of the left. The Democratic Party, converted into a centrist, also suffered a serious setback and kept only 57 seats (against 308 obtained in 2009), which must be added the single seat obtained by its allies in the People's New Party. It seems clear that alliances have mainly done on power strategies rather than ideological conviction. It is difficult to vote for a coalition that brings together a myriad of parties with very different positions. How imagine the political actions that would put in place if they win alliances uniting like Shintaro Ishihara and Toru Hashimoto, the one bringing the Democratic Party and the People's New Party or that between Ichiro Ozawa and environmentalists? Faced with these coalitions devoid of programmatic coherence, demagogic and existing only by their opposition to nuclear power, the increase in VAT and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Liberal Democratic Party emerged as the most reassuring and responsible choice (Crespo, 199-209).
On 26 December 2012, Abe has again become prime minister, but not enthuse. For it was he who opened in 2006 the period still in progress, ephemeral Cabinets (seven prime ministers in just over six years). Faced with a population concerned about the economic problems he had at the time preferred to follow a nationalist ideological program, including visiting the controversial shrine Yasukuni. His popularity had dropped so quickly. He finds now in front of the stage, with low legitimacy because of the circumstances of his inauguration as head of the Liberal Democratic Party. Indeed, he hardly won the primary party last September, members of Locals have much preferred him former Defense Minister and Agriculture, Shigeru Ishiba. But it did not obtain a majority in the second round where only MPs were allowed to vote, Shinzo Abe eventually won the election. This primary illustrates the way the wear of the political class: Abe is the grandson of former Prime Minister (and war criminal) Nobusuke Kishi; one of the four candidates, Nobuteru Ishihara, is in turn the son of the former governor of Tokyo. Moreover, Abe has established itself at the ballot through a parliamentary vote, and against the will of party members.
During the campaign, he wanted to impose the image of a new man who has learned from his mistakes and tried to embody a kind charismatic leadership. He consistently criticized the Democratic Party (reproaching him particularly his weakness against China), considered nuclear zero option as unrealistic and irresponsible, but remained vague on restarting the reactors and the future of energy. Many signs indicate that it will continue its work in the nationalist path: its refusal to negotiate about territories that Japan, China, and Korea argue, its willingness to reform the textbooks and the strengthening Forces self-defense. But we should add its promotion of industrial productivism (including nuclear, where the speech of ambiguity on this subject) 31. The Liberal Democrats provides a level of 200 trillion yen over the decade. His opponents saw it as a disguised return to clientelism (Baramaki) years of High-growth.
Works cited
Burden, B. C. "Economic Accountability And Strategic Calibration: The Case Of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party". Party Politics 21.3 (2013): 346-356. Web.
Christensen, Ray. Ending The LDP Hegemony. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2000. Print.
Crespo, J. A. "The Liberal Democratic Party In Japan: Conservative Domination". International Political Science Review 16.2 (1012): 199-209.
Hori, Harumi. The Changing Japanese Political System. London: Routledge, 2014. Print.
Uyehara, Cecil H and Allan Burnett-Cole. Comparative Platforms Of Japan's Major Parties: Social Democratic Party Of Japan Reunified On October 13, 1955, Japan Liberal Democratic Party Resulting From A Merger On November 15, 1955. [Medford, Mass.]: Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1955. Print.
