2001 Volume 1 Pages 39-53
In the current serious economic malaise, Japan’s political leaders, parties and political system as a whole are being accused of irresponsiveness to the hardship of the nation. Because of this, a new wave of political reform is emerging early in the twenty-first century.
However, it is paradoxical that, notwithstanding one of the largest-scale reforms of political institutions among developed countries, Japan’s political reforms in the past decade were extremely unfruitful. Presumably, it is because the relations between political institutions and civil society were not well accounted for in institutional design. In other words, political reform in Japan was overly dependent on institutional reforms, without careful consideration of the historical conditions of civil society.
Political reform discussions in the twenty-first century are also focusing on institutions, and constitutional reform, including changes to the parliamentary cabinet system. Parties, influential politicians, and civic groups endorse changes towards a system of plebiscite system.
The outcome of such reforms is both highly uncertain and risky. It would be better for Japan to conduct more bottom-up reforms.
