Introduction to Japanese Politics

Louis D. Hayes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351998321
• Edition: 6
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Asian Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Introduction to Japanese Politics, now in its fully updated sixth edition, is a comprehensive and current review of political and public policy developments in Japan. Since the previous edition, Japan's economic policy has undergone significant change with a prolonged period of deflation having altered the dynamics of the Japanese economy. At the same time, the Abe administration has expanded Japan's international security participation, previously limited by the constitution, while China's activities in the South China Sea have impinged upon Japan's territorial claims.

This classic introduction to the Japanese political system has been revised and fully updated in this sixth edition to take into account these widespread changes in the country's political life. Building on the structure and content of the previous edition, this new edition covers:

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• An overview of Japan's geographical setting and history

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• Japan's political institutions, processes, and actors

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• Recent organizational, ideological, and policy changes in the LDP since its return to power

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• The country's distinctive social order and its educational, healthcare, and public safety systems

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• The increasingly contentious realm of foreign relations and security issues, including China's expanding role and the effect of North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.

This broad-ranging textbook continues to be essential reading for students of Japanese politics, international politics and Japanese studies.

Part 1
Modern Japan

Background

Introduction

When measured against the usual standards of political and economic development, Japan has come a long way in a very short time. Beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, Japan took but a few decades to transform itself from a provincial backwater to a modern state and a major international power. In keeping with the foreign policy practices established and employed by western nations, Japan chose to exercise this new-found power by defining its relationship with its neighbors largely in military terms. As a result, much of Asia was subjected to the consequences of Japanese conquest and domination. But Japan’s entry into empire building came when the process had just about run its course and was becoming impractical. New forces affecting both international and domestic political orders began to make themselves felt toward the end of the century. The decline of colonialism accelerated rapidly after the First World War, frustrating Japan’s efforts to achieve the kind of long-lasting imperial results that rewarded European conquests. By the turn of the twentieth century national self-awareness had replaced docile acceptance of foreign colonial rule in many areas of the world. Moreover, despite the destructive capacity of military force, controlling subject populations had become too costly. Especially after the First World War, the utility of armed force to acquire and maintain empires was recognized as impractical for most nations. Learning this lesson ultimately proved very costly to Japan.

But military disaster in the Second World War dimmed Japan’s prospects for international greatness only temporarily. In a short time, barely two decades, not only were its cities and industries rebuilt and its political institutions transformed but Japan came to assert itself again on the world stage and to occupy a prominent position among the world’s major powers. This time Japan’s status came to be defined mainly in economic terms, although it also possesses greater military capacity than is generally assumed. From being unable to feed its own population immediately after the conclusion of the Second World War, Japan amassed such an enormous fortune that it has assumed the role of the number one creditor nation, allowing it to exert important influence in international relations.

The economic conditions of the United States and Japan have seesawed back and forth. While Japan ascended, the US appeared to be going in the opposite direction in the 1970s and 1980s. In the first few decades after the Second World War the US was both militarily and economically the most powerful nation on earth. Then, after the Vietnam debacle, Washington turned away from using military power to shape international developments (the Vietnam syndrome) and American economic influence declined. The US has the largest economy, but it also has the largest balance-of-payments deficit. Americans buy more from other countries than they sell, producing a deficit that is financed, in part, by the Japanese. In the late 1980s the Japanese upward trajectory experienced a serious reversal as the “bubble economy” collapsed. At the same time the US got its economic house in order and embarked on a record-setting period of economic growth, especially in areas of advanced technology. The bursting of the “dot-com” bubble and the shock of 9/11 led to recession in the US, while Japan’s economy remained stagnant. However, by 2005 both the US and Japan seemed to be on the road to recovery, until 2008 when a financial crisis in the US reverberated globally. The trouble was the result of a mortgage-loan crisis, a negative savings rate, and the cost of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The dollar briefly fell below Y100 and the price of petroleum skyrocketed. Since then the trend has been in the opposite direction as oil prices have plummeted.

The Japanese had accomplished their post-war reconstruction without the usual foundations of national power. In terms of natural resources Japan is not a richly endowed country. Nor is it a large one and much of the land is mountainous. Hence minerals, energy sources, and foodstuffs must be imported in significant quantities. Japan’s present-day success is not attributable to the beneficence of nature, but is the result of a combination of favorable circumstances, national commitment, and efficiency.

Japan shares with Britain a degree of national success out of proportion to its size. This success is due in no small part to one thing they have in common: both are island nations. One advantage of being an island is that the surrounding ocean serves as a protective moat. The country is secure from all but the most enterprising invaders. From the Norman conquest in 1066 onward, the British have been spared defeat on their own soil at the hands of a foreign enemy. The English Channel kept at bay numerous conquerors, the most notable being Napoleon and Hitler. The Japanese did nearly as well, suffering defeat and occupation only once, in 1945. But, perhaps more significantly, an island is fairly safe from another kind of invasion, that of population migration. This isolation, no doubt, played a key part in shaping the national development of both countries.

The Japanese archipelago consists of the four principal islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, plus many smaller islands. The total area of the country is 145,730 square miles and it extends for a length of 2,360 miles. Japan is approximately one-twentieth the size of the US and is half the size of the United Kingdom. Located in the temperate zone, it has abundant vegetation, which, together with its rugged terrain, creates a landscape of considerable beauty.

The physical make-up of the country presents conditions of both adversity and advantage. The terrain is approximately 80 percent mountainous, and there are more than 580 peaks that exceed 2,000 meters. The tallest of them is the famous Mt. Fuji, which rises to 3,776 meters. These mountains are the product of the extreme instability of the Earth’s crust in this area of the planet. This instability has confronted the Japanese with numerous hazards. Volcanic activity has produced mountains, of which Mt. Fuji is the finest example. More serious and immediate dangers come from frequent earthquakes. The weather can also be a threat. Japan is regularly visited by typhoons, the tropical storms that often wreak considerable damage. Many lives have been lost and much property destroyed as heavy rains are followed by mudslides that sweep away houses and their occupants. However, typhoons have also been a blessing, as in 1281 when a storm destroyed a Mongol invasion fleet as it was approaching the Japanese coast.

There are many rivers, but they are short and generally not navigable. This is not a serious problem, however, as the country is very narrow and any point is relatively close to the sea. The highly irregular coastline provides many natural harbors, an advantage of immeasurable significance for the economy as it reduces the cost of transportation.

The climate is varied, ranging from hot summers to cold winters. There are four regular and distinct seasons and the changes in these seasons tend to be more dramatic than in other areas of the temperate zone. The country experiences considerable rainfall—a boon to agriculture—as well as heavy snowfall. The resulting run-off allows for extensive hydroelectric development.

As substantial as Japan’s economic development has been, it is not built on a very firm foundation. Japan is poorly endowed with those mineral resources necessary to sustain a modern industrial structure.¹ Oil, iron ore, coking coal, and non-ferrous metal ores, such as copper, nickel, and bauxite, used in the manufacture of aluminum, plus a host of others, must be imported. Only a fraction of electrical power needs are produced from domestic resources. Most electricity is generated either by imported oil or imported coal. There has been an attempt to exploit the relatively more fuel-efficient nuclear power industry. But that development too depends on outside suppliers for fuel and some of the equipment that goes into reactor construction. It has also resulted in other problems, such as the Fukushima disaster.

Not only are there few minerals but the agricultural resource base is limited. The mountainous countryside means that only about 16 percent of the land is arable, with another 3 percent for pastures and meadows. To scratch a living from this environment, farmers have been faced with a difficult task. These efforts come at considerable cost, however, as food prices are among the highest in the world. While agricultural productivity has increased, the percentage of the population engaged in farming has declined. Part of the increasing productivity is the result of land reform measures introduced during the US occupation after the Second World War. As Japan has experienced an improvement in its overall economic well-being there has been an increase in the consumption of foodstuffs, such as beef, that the country cannot produce in sufficient supply to meet demand. This has resulted in a substantial increase in imports. But the politically privileged position of the farmer has kept the volume of imports well below the level of potential demand. Moreover consumers are willing to pay high prices in order to protect domestically produced food sources. The failure of Japan to open its markets to other countries is not just a matter of protectionism. It reflects the peculiar nature of the Japanese marketplace and the attitudes of consumers. The trade situation is a continuing international issue.

Japan’s accomplishments in achieving major influence in world affairs in such a short time are made even more remarkable by the fact that its total recorded history has been extraordinarily brief. This is all the more striking when compared to the ancient origins and immense cultural accomplishments of China. Japan remained under-developed by all standard measures of civilization until the past few centuries.

Although the prehistory of Japan is not certain, it is clear from archeological evidence that the ancestors of the present-day inhabitants of the islands came from east Asia and the south Pacific. These people, called the Yamato, asserted themselves over other warring tribes and clans during the first three or four centuries of the Christian era and became the dominant group. Since then there has been very little infusion of other ethnic groups, resulting in a contemporary population that is fundamentally homogeneous. For this the Japanese can thank their geographical isolation.

The population of Japan was estimated on September 1, 2006 at 127,700,000 and in 2013 at 127,143,577. The numbers continue to decline—the population was estimated to be 126,926,000 at the end of 2015—as the median age keeps rising. The proportion of people aged 65 or older in 2013 was 24 percent, up from 18.8 percent ten years earlier. Because of the increase in older people and the decrease in younger people as a share of the population, social priorities change. Among older people, probably the greatest demand for social services is in the area of health care. For young people the emphasis is on education. Young adults are mainly concern...