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The Decline of Particularism in Japanese Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2016

Gregory W. Noble
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Abstract

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Particularistic spending has played a storied role in Japanese politics, but during the last decade of LDP rule, expenditures on roads, bridges, agricultural projects, and the like steadily lost ground to more programmatic outlays on social welfare, science and technology, and public order (but not defense or foreign aid). Prime Minister Koizumi played an important role in this shift, but the trends preceded him and continued under his much weaker successors. The end of the Cold War, increasing foreign investment, and the weakness of the domestic economy probably played mostly minor roles in the decline of particularism. The aging of Japanese society, not least in rural areas, created direct pressure for programmatic spending, while partisan upheaval, the growing share of floating voters, and reforms to the electoral and administrative systems created both an incentive and a greater capacity to redirect attention to the concerns of median voters.

Keywords

JapanLiberal Democratic Partybudgetparticularisminfrastructurepublic workselectoral reform
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , August 2010 , pp. 239 - 274
Copyright
Copyright © East Asia Institute 

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