Rising Sun, Failing Democracy: Japan's Inability for Change and What International Institutions Can Do About It

Abstract

Japan is often referred to as a “model democracy” within the Asian continent. This thinking reduces Japanese politics to an overly simple level, and has the unfortunate consequence of inadvertently discouraging full-bodied critiques of Japanese democracy. Through a qualitative analysis of three separate case studies focusing on Japanese economy, culture and criminal justice, it is shown that Japanese politics becomes less pressured by that of the so-called “one-and-a-half” party system that political scientists have suggested in recent years and more by the fact that the electorate within Japan struggle to challenge what is perceived as the “status quo”. A thorough analysis of this status quo is conducted, and suggestions for both Japanese policy advocates and international organizations are presented.