Japanese Politics Today: From Karaoke to Kabuki Democracy [Hardcover]

Japanese politics now, with seven prime ministers appointed within this decade and the second major political party turnover taken place within the last two decades, is undergoing a great transition. This book explores the gradual shift from what the editors call karaoke democracy to kabuki democracy.Prime Ministers; T.InoguchiThe System of Bureaucrats; H.InatsuguLegislators; K.FukumotoWinning Elections in Japan's New Electoral Environment ; S.R.ReedParty Politics; J.A.A.StockwinThe Farm Lobby; A.G.MulganCivil Society and Global Citizenship; J.ChanWelfare Policy; G.Kasza & T.HorieJapan's Subnational Government toward Greater Decentralization and participatory Democracy; P.JainReporting with Wolves: Pack Journalism and the Dissemination of Political Information - O.FeldmanRevision of Administrative Law as Shortcut to Constitutional Revision; H.Hardacre

Japanese politics has gone through several transformations in the past, albeit all under the LPD party until its defeat by the DJP in 2009. At this critical juncture in the history of Japanese politics, Takashi Inoguchi has once again written a remarkably insightful book on Japanese politics and on three distinguished prime ministers, Yoshida, Tanaka, and Koizumi. He writes that the bureaucrat/expert-dependent, consensus-building, organic politics which he defines as 'Karaoke democracy' has given way to an inorganic, individualistic politics nicknamed 'Kabuki democracy' and epitomized by Koizumi, a go-alone leader who pursued aggressive policies to meet the demand of globalization and digitalization. This is a story of Japanese politics at the point of inflection. We will have to wait for another masterpiece of political analysis by Inoguchi on why Koizumi s successors continue to fail to replicate what he has done so successfully and when future leaders of Yoshida/Tanaka/Koizumi s caliber will appear again in Japan.

- Han Seung-soo, former prime minister, Republic of Korea Takashi InoglCĪ