Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores Japanese politics in the postwar era. It focuses on domestic politics and institutions, including the Diet, the electoral system, the prime minister, political parties, the bureaucracy, local government, and the legal system. The book also highlights the importance of political reform in the 1990s by exploring both the nature of the reform as well as the effects of the electoral, campaign finance, and administrative reforms passed. It also focuses on Japan's security and trade policies, Japan's role in the Asian region, and Japan's bilateral relations with the US, South Korea, China and the EU. The book concludes by addressing what has changed since the historic election of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the 2009 lower house election, and what political and economic challenges remain in the years to come.