Japan Decides 2012: The Japanese General Election

Front Matter....Pages i-xxii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Introduction....Pages 3-7
Japanese Politics Between the 2009 and 2012 Elections....Pages 8-19
Keeping It Together: Party Unity and the 2012 Election....Pages 20-33
The 2012 Election Results: The LDP Wins Big by Default....Pages 34-46
Front Matter....Pages 47-47
The LDP’s Path Back to Power....Pages 49-64
The Remains of the DPJ....Pages 65-71
Challenging the Two-Party System: Third Force Parties in the 2012 Election....Pages 72-83
Komeito—The First “Third Force”....Pages 84-98
Front Matter....Pages 99-99
Candidate Recruitment for the 2012 Election: New Parties, New Methods … Same Old Pool of Candidates?....Pages 101-122
New Inter-election Campaigning Tools....Pages 123-138
Malapportionment and the 2012 House of Representatives Election....Pages 139-147
What the 2012 Lower House Elections Has to Say about Japan’s Urban-Rural Divide....Pages 148-153
Campaign Finance Irregularities, Sex Scandals, and the Election....Pages 154-169
Women Candidates and Political Parties in Election 2012....Pages 170-176
Front Matter....Pages 177-177
Foreign Policy as an Election Issue....Pages 179-194
Election Surprise: Abenomics and Central Bank Independence Trump Nationalism and Fukushima....Pages 195-200
Right Rising? Ideology and the 2012 House of Representatives Election....Pages 201-212
Farmers, Agricultural Policies, and the Election....Pages 213-224
Governance with a Twist: How Bicameralism Affects Japanese Lawmaking....Pages 225-244
Back Matter....Pages 245-257