ABSTRACT

This introduction presents some of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows the concept to adopt a multidimensional approach to party competition that deals with electoral features, agenda dynamics, intra-party divisions, the parties' societal connections, and with a comparison of the periods before and after 1993. The study of post-war Japanese politics has typically centred on explaining the Liberal Democratic Party, LDP's long-term rule. The approaches have included variations on such themes as the party's policy-adaptability to socio-economic changes, its use of the government to assist primary support categories, institutional factors, notably the election system, the impact of the bureaucracy and economic prosperity credited to the LDP. Most fundamentally, the LDP alone focused firmly on wielding government power. Politico-ideological drives played a major role in the vying for a popular following. In the LDP's case they complemented the institutional aspect.