Japan s political stability was shattered after the general election of July 1993 when the conservative Liberal Democratic Party s thirty-eight year domination ended in defeat. This book examines the impact the 1993 general election had on Japanese politics. Although the LDP regained the position of a ruling party within a year, Hori questions whether the Japanese political system has managed to maintain the same efficacy as it had prior to 1993.

Using institutional analysis Hori argues that this fundamental change caused major institutional transformations; a decline in the...

Harumi Hori presents an explanation as to why the Japanese bureaucracy has maintained its superiority to party politicians in policymaking and examines its cooperation with them in legalising processes from a historical perspective.