ABSTRACT
Political party identification is weakening as a factor in determining how people vote in all of the advanced industrial democracies. Japan has progressed much further along this trail than comparable democracies, with the result that politics has become more volatile. This progression is shown in Japan as rural voters, who once were more loyal to specific candidates than urban voters, have become as volatile as their urban counterparts. In place of candidate or party loyalty, voters choose candidates on a variety of characteristics, including physical attractiveness. This lessened loyalty puts a greater premium on a short-term perspective of popular policies to woo voters, making it harder to enact difficult, but necessary, legislation. The Japanese example, including the success of popular politicians such as Koizumi and Abe point to a more volatile and unorthodox type of politics that is likely to be the future in Japan and similarly situated democracies.
