ABSTRACT
Pluralism as a theory of democratic government was popular in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Pluralism has been taken up by political scientists specializing in Japanese politics. They use pluralism as a paradigm for explaining what goes on in the political arena in contemporary Japan. Pluralism includes three key features: competition among groups, the political system is self-regulatory and self-correcting, and the state has limited power. Cartel Model suggests that when certain ministries, party politicians, interest groups, and sub-sets of voters can form political cartels, such cartels can deliver a variety of benefits to its participants at the expense of the general interest. The chapter illustrates the cartel model of Japanese politics by taking up the case of rice farmers. Rice farmers do very well because they can use their political clout to obtain government protection.
