The Liberal Democratic Party in Japan remained in power continuously between 1955 and 1993. In this groundbreaking study of the dominance of the LDP in Japanese politics over the last forty years, Opposition Politics in Japan examines the challenges which were mounted against this regime and explores why they failed. The subjects covered include opportunities for a united opposition during the 1970s, ideological, organisational and electoral aspects of the opposition's lack of response to such opportunities and the causes of opposition fragmentation. The book also looks at attempts...

Agriculture is one of the most politically powerful sectors in Japanese national politics. This book provides a comprehensive account of the political power of Japanese farmers. It analyzes the organisational and electoral basis of farmer's political power, including the role of agricultural interest groups, the mobilization of the farm vote and links between farmers and politicians in the Diet. Agrarian power has helped to produce the distinctly pro-rural, anti-urban bias of postwar Japanese governments, resulting in a general neglect of urban consumer interests and sustained opposition to...

During the 21st century Japan was transformed from a poor, primarily rural country into the world's largest industrial power and one of the most highly urbanized countries in the world. Interestingly, whilst Japanese governments and planners borrowed from western planning ideas and methods - for instance, industrial processes and technologies - Japanese urban planning, urban governance and cities developed very differently from those of other developed countries.

This book examines employment structure, working practice and recruitment strategies in Japanese retail in the 1990s through a case-study of one large chain store. Issues focused on include gender in the workplace, changing notions of corporate community and the impact of Japan's recent recession. In particular the research presented here challenges the view of part-time female staff as peripheral to the workforce and asks whether a rethink of the Japanese employment system is now overdue.

Viewed historically as the lapdog of business, bureaucratic and political interests, Japan's Fair Trade Commission has had mixed success in promoting its agenda for stronger antimonopoly policy since the early 1970s. Dr Beeman unravels antimonopoly politics in Japan through an analysis of the diverse interests of industry, government, and other parties to reveal how and why antimonopoly policy has made important inroads yet ultimately failed to gain deep acceptance in Japan. The book covers a range of developments in antimonopoly policy during the period 1973-1995, including efforts to:...