Abstract
This article explains what determines the amount of speeches delivered by Japanese Lower House members in standing committees. Previous literature has considered committees as either obstacles that impede the passage of legislation or as an “arena” for partisan debate. This article argues that individual members' political motivations are also important. Members use time in committees as an opportunity to enhance their electoral fortunes; climb the party ranks; and influence policy by drawing on their issue expertise. To support this argument, the authors parse conference minutes from two time periods, the 1980s and 2000s, using Perl scripts. They compile an original dataset on the amount of committee speeches given by individual MPs. Analyses show that there are three important determinants of the length of speech: members' electoral concerns, party ambition, and policy expertise. In addition, comparison between the two decades suggests a changing pattern of members' speeches after the electoral reform of 1994.
