The Role of the PM and Electoral Politics Flashcards
How does the Japanese Political system operate?
- Attempted balance of U.S. separation of powers and British governmental system
- Proportional Representation: Parties gain seats in proportion to number of votes
- Election Law: regulated by public offices election law (POEL) of 1946 whereby there remains area biases (some areas need less votes than others)
Upper House Politics (Councillors):
- If decisions cannot be made between lower and upper, decision of diet will go with the lower
Lower House Politics (Representatives): Pre and Post 1994 changed one vote to two by socialist coalition in hopes of gaining more votes. Leads to candidates who lose constituency vote still able to win regional PR votes (leads to sucking up and interpersonal relations within party meaning party dominance)
- PM elected by the houses (so in PRACTICE, PM is simply the leader of the ruling party)
- PM supposedly has more freedom to exercise power as they are only accountable to houses of parliament
Overview of Burrets piece on ‘revolving doors of Japan’
- 2006-2012 saw a change in PM every year
- Study looks at what factors affect this ‘revolving door’
- Uses Leadership Capital Index (LCI) to assess leaders’ political resources (skills, relations, reputation) as to how they gain, maintain and deploy power
- Prolific PMs: Koizumi and Abe
What are Burrets findings?
- Lack of skills and policy visions lead to quick outing (PM Mori’s speech about university gang ratings)
- Falling on own sword: Sensitivity to media and public e.g. Meetings with Yakuza bosses leads them to resign
- LDP Dominance: LDP dominance meant DPJ PM’s had little experience in ministerial affairs
- Prolific ones: Koizumi and Abe held office longer as they had strong personal behaviours and clear policy visions
Define pork barrel politics
Service whereby legislators geographic constituency benefits from projects in the area as individuals wish to be re-elected
What does Lancaster analyse and find?
Analyses: uses comparative model which links country’s electoral system with degree of pork barrel politics
Findings: strong correlation between number of representatives per district and degree of pork barrel politics, as is the case in Japan
What is Kleins argument?
- Scholars often claim that the public office election law prohibits different and more effective campaigning and is itself ineffective
- Uses SLT to evaluate how effective campaigners are with regards to how they interact with their voters
- SLT (Social Learning Theory): assumes actors adapt their behaviour within stable structures by learning what works well and what doesn’t
What are Kleins findings?
- Shows that next to appealing to voters, there are other campaigning goals in mind: motivating staff, maintaining good relationship with external helpers, presenting political convictions and personal determination and the fact that there is little feedback and that is why the SLT does not occur
- So?: shows that there are more factors which must be taken into account when assessing the effectiveness of campaigners and the public office election law
What are some reasons as to why there is low turnout to vote within Japan?
- Lack of internet use for voting until 2015
- Age now changed from 20 to 18 in 2015
- Number of votes needed to elect too high
- Lack of identity within Japan and in-party voting
- Factions mean that party remains in control so people do not get to vote for national elections often
What does the constitution say of the role of the PM?
Similar to UK
Article 65: executive power in the CABINET
Article 66: PM as head of this cabinet as is responsible to diet
Who makes decisions in Japan?
- Iron Triangle: LDP, Bureaucracy, Big Businesses
- Amakudari: Bureaucrats often take up positions within Japanese big businesses and facilitate businesses with knowledge of the system
- Corruption?: Heads of almost all organisations went to the same Tokyo University
- Is it helpful as it helps run the best state?
Example of Abe being strong PM?
- Abenomics: 3 pillars (print more money, invest in the economy, structural reform)
- Normative Japan: Clear policies toward China, with him attempting to make Asia more democratic
- Constitutional revisionist: article 9
