ABSTRACT

The transformation of the political landscape has altered the relative weight of the administrative and legislative branches. Some sociologists hold that a transformation of values occurs once the $1,500 level is crossed in per capita real national income. To assess the outlook for Japanese-US relations it is essential to understand the domestic political changes underway and see where they are likely to lead. The Japanese headed into the July 1977 House of Councillors election strongly at odds with the superpowers— the Soviet Union and the United States—over problems directly related to their livelihood, such as energy and food. In Japanese parliamentary structure, parity between the ruling and the opposition parties in both houses of the Diet can mean virtual paralysis of the policy-making process. A certain transitional confusion is unavoidable, but nothing alters the author confidence that Japanese politics will move down the road to stability and maturity.