ABSTRACT
Almost 30 years have passed since the end of the Cold War and the 1955 regime. During this period, Japanese politics have been in flux constantly. At the national level, single-party rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) came to an end and coalition governments of various types succeeded. In this chapter, the author focuses on the “conservative turn” among Japan’s younger generation. In Japan, it has been argued that among the young, the well-educated non-partisans endorse anti-authoritarian values. They would have been expected to be the main proponents of “anti-elite” politics in the 1990s. Traditionalism is a value that insists on adherence to tradition and customs, including a strong emphasis on gender-role segregation. In principle, it is incompatible with modern individualism. In 2015, however, materialistic values had gained importance and appear to have been one factor in the increasing support for the LDP, regardless of age.
