The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System

In the political system of post-war Japan there emerged a unique phenomenon of the ‘1955 system’, which contradicted, in its form and in its essence, to the principle of the changeability of power inherent for the democratic systems. The Liberal-Democratic Party retained majority in the lower hous...

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Autor principal:	D. V. STRELTSOV
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN RU
Publicado:	Ассоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”) 2018
Materias:	the liberal democratic party ‘the 1955 system’ dominant party coalition government bipartisan system shinzo abe constitutional democratic party populism ‘floating votes’ authoritarian style International relations JZ2-6530
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6991ff307e9349688a3141650ceb5cd4
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:6991ff307e9349688a3141650ceb5cd4
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6991ff307e9349688a3141650ceb5cd42021-11-07T14:45:02ZThe Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System2542-02402587-932410.23932/2542-0240-2018-11-3-120-136https://doaj.org/article/6991ff307e9349688a3141650ceb5cd42018-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ogt-journal.com/jour/article/view/317https://doaj.org/toc/2542-0240https://doaj.org/toc/2587-9324In the political system of post-war Japan there emerged a unique phenomenon of the ‘1955 system’, which contradicted, in its form and in its essence, to the principle of the changeability of power inherent for the democratic systems. The Liberal-Democratic Party retained majority in the lower house of Diet for the 38-year period, which allowed it to form the government without joining coalitions with any other parties. “The 1955 system” was a form of adaptation of the political power to the specific conditions of cold war era. In the sphere of foreign policy, the bipolar model of the Japanese political system reflected the ideological choice between the capitalist system led by the United States and the socialist system led by the USSR. In the economic sphere, the dominant party system was the most appropriate response to the specific needs of the mobilization economic model, in which first fiddle was played by bureaucracy, whilst the political power performed rather decorative functions. The authoritarian features in the LDP power system that can be imagined to be the result of its monopolistic rule, in reality did not have a distinct manifestation because of the de facto absence of unity in its top management and the preservation of a viable faction system well adapted to the electoral model of the multimember districts. The end of ‘the 1955 system’, associated with the end of the cold war, manifested itself in the loss of the LDP’s dominant position in the party system and in the beginning of the era of coalition governments. The issues of ideology in the post-bipolar period lost their significance as a form of axis in the inter-party division. Currently, the LDP holds the leading positions in the political arena as the main political force in the Diet. The ruling party faces serious problems, among which one can mention the decline of the LDP authority in the Japanese society against the background of resonant political scandals, the absence of intra-party democracy and the authoritarian style of Abe’s rule which raises the risks of political mistakes, as well as the lack of reliable mechanisms of succession of senior positions in the party hierarchy. However, the specificity of the electoral system, as well as the chronic state of split and the absence of strong political leaders in the opposition camp, give the LDP substantial advantages against other parties, feeding the conclusion that the LDP will remain the dominant political force of Japan in the foreseeable future.D. V. STRELTSOVАссоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”)articlethe liberal democratic party‘the 1955 system’dominant partycoalition governmentbipartisan systemshinzo abeconstitutional democratic partypopulism‘floating votes’authoritarian styleInternational relationsJZ2-6530ENRUКонтуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право, Vol 11, Iss 3, Pp 120-136 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN RU
topic	the liberal democratic party ‘the 1955 system’ dominant party coalition government bipartisan system shinzo abe constitutional democratic party populism ‘floating votes’ authoritarian style International relations JZ2-6530
spellingShingle	the liberal democratic party ‘the 1955 system’ dominant party coalition government bipartisan system shinzo abe constitutional democratic party populism ‘floating votes’ authoritarian style International relations JZ2-6530 D. V. STRELTSOV The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System
description	In the political system of post-war Japan there emerged a unique phenomenon of the ‘1955 system’, which contradicted, in its form and in its essence, to the principle of the changeability of power inherent for the democratic systems. The Liberal-Democratic Party retained majority in the lower house of Diet for the 38-year period, which allowed it to form the government without joining coalitions with any other parties. “The 1955 system” was a form of adaptation of the political power to the specific conditions of cold war era. In the sphere of foreign policy, the bipolar model of the Japanese political system reflected the ideological choice between the capitalist system led by the United States and the socialist system led by the USSR. In the economic sphere, the dominant party system was the most appropriate response to the specific needs of the mobilization economic model, in which first fiddle was played by bureaucracy, whilst the political power performed rather decorative functions. The authoritarian features in the LDP power system that can be imagined to be the result of its monopolistic rule, in reality did not have a distinct manifestation because of the de facto absence of unity in its top management and the preservation of a viable faction system well adapted to the electoral model of the multimember districts. The end of ‘the 1955 system’, associated with the end of the cold war, manifested itself in the loss of the LDP’s dominant position in the party system and in the beginning of the era of coalition governments. The issues of ideology in the post-bipolar period lost their significance as a form of axis in the inter-party division. Currently, the LDP holds the leading positions in the political arena as the main political force in the Diet. The ruling party faces serious problems, among which one can mention the decline of the LDP authority in the Japanese society against the background of resonant political scandals, the absence of intra-party democracy and the authoritarian style of Abe’s rule which raises the risks of political mistakes, as well as the lack of reliable mechanisms of succession of senior positions in the party hierarchy. However, the specificity of the electoral system, as well as the chronic state of split and the absence of strong political leaders in the opposition camp, give the LDP substantial advantages against other parties, feeding the conclusion that the LDP will remain the dominant political force of Japan in the foreseeable future.
format	article
author	D. V. STRELTSOV
author_facet	D. V. STRELTSOV
author_sort	D. V. STRELTSOV
title	The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System
title_short	The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System
title_full	The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System
title_fullStr	The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System
title_full_unstemmed	The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System
title_sort	party system in contemporary japan: from the ldp dominance to a real multiparty system
publisher	Ассоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”)
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/6991ff307e9349688a3141650ceb5cd4
work_keys_str_mv	AT dvstreltsov thepartysystemincontemporaryjapanfromtheldpdominancetoarealmultipartysystem AT dvstreltsov partysystemincontemporaryjapanfromtheldpdominancetoarealmultipartysystem
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The Party System in Contemporary Japan: from the LDP Dominance to a Real Multiparty System

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