ABSTRACT
Anyaccountofasociety'spoliticalstructurereliesuponsome methodologicalassumptions.Differentassumptionsleadtodifferentinterpretationsorexplanationsofthepoliticalstructure.There is,therefore,roomtodebatethenatureofJapan'spolitical structure.EveniftheJapanesesystemisviewedasbeinga democracy,disagreementswillariseastowhoreallyhasinfluence, astothegroupswhichhavepower,andastotheexactnatureof therelationshipsbetweenthevariousactors(Sone1982).
