Abstract
This article promotes a characterization of intra-party governance that explains how prime minister controls rank- and-file party members. The Cabinet is dependent on support from a ruling party (or ruling parties) holding majority of seats in the Diet. The prime minister needs support from ruling party legislators in order to maintain his or her government and pass bills. If the legislators wish to climb the parliamentary career ladder, they must toe the party line. I conducted an empirical test of the relationship between Liberal Democratic Party cabinet appointments and dissents in 1980-2014. It was found from the result that prime minister enhanced the freedom of cabinet selection, the frequency of dissent increased and the relationship between intra-party governance and dissent was changed.
