Japanese Journal of Electoral Studies

The 2nd Administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and its Policy

Chihiro OKAWA

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 5-18
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_5

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This paper examines the strategy of the policy development of the second Abe administration. Shinzo Abe marked the economy as top priority and pushed his “Abenomics” to the fore. However, this doesn’t mean the abandonment of his conservative longing, “breaking out of the post-war regime” since the first administration. Rather, he repeatedly talked about the ambition to reform the constitution, and the Abenomics was regarded as a means of realization of the goal. By emphasizing Abenomics as a realistic symbol of administration, important issues including social security reform are absorbed into the logic of economic revitalization, and the expectations of a wide range of voters to the administration were kept. In this way, his long term was obtained. But there was a dilemma in which he could not ask the public opinion about constitutional revision, because the economic policy was fixed as the main source of legitimacy of the administration.

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Reconsideration of Candidate Image

Analysis of Data of Survey Researches in Kanazawa City

Hiroshi OKADA

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 19-34
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_19

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This paper analyzes data of survey researches in Kanazawa City which include both open-ended and closed-ended questions about candidates’ images of different kinds of elections. As a result of analysis, it is concluded that, images of candidates, of whom electorates have a little information, are more about external characteristic such as political parties, policies, attributes, and careers than about works, abilities, and characters. And it is concluded that images concerning about situations characteristic of each election and vague expectation about challengers, which cannot be caught with closed-ended questions, have effects on voting behavior.

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Reconstruction Policy Evaluation and Voting Behavior in the 2016 House of Councilors General Election in Fukushima.

Kazunori KAWAMURA

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 35-43
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_35

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In the 2016 House of Councilors Election, Teruhiko Mashiko who is an opposition candidate won, and Mitsuhide Iwaki, the Minister of Justice, was defeated in Fukushima electoral district. The incumbent ministers have been missed since the 2010 House of Councilors election. Since the inauguration of the Cabinet, the Abe Cabinet has emphasized its stance of staying close to Fukushima, the disaster area of the nuclear disaster. Therefore, the defeat of Iwaki was shocking news for the Abe Cabinet. The purpose of this paper is to confirm that evaluation of the LDP's reconstruction policy affects voting behavior using a unique survey data from Fukushima. The data show that those who evaluate LDP’s recovery policies tend to vote for Iwaki. Why did he lose the election? The data suggest that some LDP supporters voted for Mashiko and that the independents' recovery policy evaluation was not good.

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Party Politics and Policy Issues in Okinawa, Japan

An Analysis of 2017 General Election, 2018 Gubernatorial Election, and 2019 Okinawan Referendum

Yoshiaki KUBO

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 44-59
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_44

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This paper analyses 2017 general election Okinawa district, 2018 Okinawa gubernatorial election, and 2019 Okinawan referendum. In 2017 general election, while candidates from different parties or groups of ALL OKINAWA coalition were fielded in each district, electoral cooperation between LDP and Komeito worked better than 2014, and partial cooperation between LDP and JRP brought a victory to LDP in district 4. In 2018 gubernatorial election, although conservative groups in All OKINAWA had become smaller, and cooperation between LDP, Kemeito, and JRP had established newly, Tamaki Denny, successor of Onaga Takeshi, won. In 2019 referendum on the landfill at Henoko for construction of alternative for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, ‘not agree’ got the most votes including non-partisan votes. And the areas with much votes for LDP candidate in 2018 gubernatorial election got more abstentions and votes for ‘neither’. These results imply that Okinawan voters’attitudes has been continuing since 2014.

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History of Women’s Under-representation in Japanese Local Politics and Its Accompanying Issues

A Case Study of Tottori Prefecture

Masashi KASUGA, Hideko TAKEYASU

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 60-75
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_60

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Although 73 years have passed since the first women were elected to the Japanese Diet, the proportion of female members in Japan still hovers at a low level both in national and local politics. Now that the countries with high rates of women councillors have overcome this issue by introducing the gender quotas, it is clearly time for Japan to consider the countermeasures, including this method, to improve the women’s share in local politics. This paper has two objectives: one is to clarify the causes of women’s under-representation in Japanese local politics, and the other to discuss countermeasures to address this issue. For achieving these two, we traced back the election history of Tottori Prefecture from the post-war till now and investigated the electoral triumph of women councillors in it. For the effective analysis, we divided the 72 yearhistory of women’s franchise in Tottori into 4 periods and extracted issues from each period. Based on the results, we also proposed the introduction of the gender quotas into Japanese local politics, fostering of necessary personnel, implementation of the enlightenment education, and electoral reforms.

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Why have the Liberal Democratic Party adopted Kōbo system?

Inclusive candidate selection method and party local organization

Hidenori TSUTSUMI

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 76-89
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_76

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After the mid-2000s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has selected candidates of the Diet through inclusive method such as Kōbo or primary. Whydid the LDP reform candidate selection method despite candidate selection is a crucial opportunity for parties to determine a configuration of parliamentary party? Considering that party organizations of district or prefecture level play central role in the LDP’s candidate selection process, this article examines effects of environments surrounding local organizations of the LDP and their organizational characteristics on adoption of inclusive candidate selection method at district level. Using dataset on candidate selection of the LDP covering all of the House of Representative and the House of Councillors elections after 2004, I show that districts where candidate fielded in last election was vulnerable and mobilizing ability of support organizations were limited (only in the House of Representative election) were more likely to select candidate through inclusive method.

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Policy Preference of Interest Groups in the Age of Neoliberalism

Hidehiro YAMAMOTO

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 90-102
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_90

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This paper aims to clarify economic policy preferences of Japanese interest groups in the age of neoliberalism. Furthermore, what kind of interests are more easily expressed in the political process is also examined. Based on a survey of interest groups, the following points were found. Firstly, groups that desire liberal economy and groups that desire governmental protection coexist in Japanese politics. In addition, both groups recognize their interests correspond to the political elites such as ruling parties and ministries. However, governmental protectionoriented groups are not satisfied with current governmental policies, despite active pressuring political elites. On the other hand, liberal economy-oriented groups are satisfied with it, although they don't actively participate in political actions.

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A carrot-and-stick policy, Media strategies in the Prime Minister Abe cabinet

Where did the “sontaku” and self-regulation come from?

Atsushi OKETA

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 103-115
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_103

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At the end of 2012, Mr. Shinzo Abe launched the second Abe Cabinet. Backed by the power of a number of parliament and high cabinet approval by ″Abenomics″, it has launched hawkish political stance such as the Specified Secret Protection Act and the Security Legislation. On the other hand, in the media measures of the Abe Cabinet, organizational media and many organizational journalists have shrunk, and over time, a degree of self-regulation and self-regulation has emerged. In this paper, I discuss the organizational media intensity in relation to the Abe government and consider one of the reasons behind the media's self-regulation. It is confirmed again that there is a media strategy by the Abe Cabinet for a carrot ‐ and ‐ stick policy media strategy behind the emergence of the centrality of the administration or the self-regulation of the press.

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Obtaining Multiple Election Cards and Voting Multiple Times in Afghanistan

Data from a Survey of Voters in Jalalabad City

Nisar Ahamad Muslih, Kyohei YAMADA

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 116-128
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_116

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This article focuses on illegally-obtained voter ID cards in Afghanistan. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some voters obtain more than one ID card and use them in elections, which violates election law. We examine whether voters actually possess multiple ID cards, characteristics of the voters who obtain multiple cards, and whether and to what extent those who hold multiple cards use their cards in elections to vote multiple times. To achieve these goals, we conducted an original survey of 300 voters in Jalalabad City in Nangarhar Province. We find that (1) approximately 19% of the respondents hold two or more voter ID cards; (2) multiple card holders tend to be less educated; and (3) more than 50% of those who hold multiple cards voted multiple times in the first and second rounds of the 2014 presidential election.

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[title in Japanese]

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 131-138
Published: 2019
Released on J-STAGE: September 12, 2022

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14854/jaes.35.1_131

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