Generational gap in Japanese politics : a longitudinal study of political attitudes and behaviour / Willy Jou, Masahisa Endo

After decades of stable and seemingly semi-permanent single-party dominance, Japanese politics have gone through fundamental changes since the early 1990s. Government ministries have been reorganised, prime ministerial powers strengthened, and rules for electing the lower house of parliament overhauled. Furthermore, frequent formation, merger, splintering and disappearance of new parties have continued for more than two decades. How do citizens make sense of politics amidst such rapid shifts? The authors address this question by focusing on attitudinal and behavioural changes and continuities with respect to political ideology. They explore what issues citizens associate with ideological terms, where they perceive various parties on a conservative-progressive dimension, and to what extent ideology affects their vote choice. Results of new surveys are also presented to shed light on distinctions between different ideological labels and profiles of radical right supporters. In addition, all topics are discussed with an eye to identifying divergent patterns between older and younger generations. Contents 6 About the Authors 8 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 Chapter 1: Introduction 14 1.1 Japanese Politics in Flux 14 1.2 Party Competition and Ideology 16 1.3 Organization of the Book 18 Notes 20 References 20 Chapter 2: Understanding Ideological Semantics 22 2.1 Introduction 22 2.2 Dimensions of Ideological and Party Competition 24 2.3 Data and Variables 28 2.4 Empirical Analysis 30 2.5 Summary and Conclusion 36 Notes 37 References 38 Chapter 3: Perceptions of Parties’ Ideological Locations and the Generation Gap 41 3.1 Introduction 42 3.2 Generational and Life-Cycle Effects 43 3.3 Ideology in Japan 45 3.4 Hypotheses, Data, and Variables 47 3.5 Empirical Analysis 49 Ideological Polarization: LDP–JCP Distance 49 Ideological Positions of the LDP and JCP 51 3.6 Summary and Discussion 56 Notes 58 Appendix 3.1 60 References 60 Chapter 4: Ideological Voting: Generational and Educational Effects 65 4.1 Introduction 65 4.2 Ideology and Ideological Voting 67 4.3 Ideology and Voting in Japan 70 4.4 Hypotheses and Data 71 4.5 Ideological Self-Placement and Vote Choice 73 4.6 Voter–Party Ideological Proximity and Vote Choice 77 4.7 Summary and Discussion 82 Notes 84 Appendix 4.1 86 Appendix 4.2 88 References 90 Chapter 5: Comparing Ideological Labels 94 5.1 Perceived Party Placement on Three Ideological Scales 95 5.2 Which Ideological Scale Is Preferable? 100 5.3 Policy Preferences and Ideological Self-Placement 101 5.4 Generational Differences 104 5.5 Summary and Discussion 110 Notes 112 Appendix 5.1 Questions comprising value dimensions in Table 5.5 113 Reference 114 Chapter 6: Profiling Radical Right Support 115 6.1 Introduction 115 6.2 Example of a Radical Right Party 117 6.3 Who Supports the Extreme Right? 117 6.4 The 2014 Tokyo Gubernatorial Election and the Emergence of a Radical Right Candidate 120 6.5 Profiling Radical Right Supporters: Empirical Analysis 122 Demographics 122 Political Attitudes: Dissatisfaction, Anti-Establishment Sentiments 123 Policy Preferences 126 Authoritarian Views 127 Nationalism 127 Anti-Foreigner Sentiments 129 6.6 Summary 132 6.7 Discussion 133 Notes 135 References 136 Chapter 7: Conclusion 138 7.1 The Context of Political Changes 138 7.2 An International Comparison 140 7.3 What Accounts for the Difference Between Italy and Japan? 142 7.4 Closing Thoughts on the Generational Gap in Japanese Politics 143 Note 144 Index 145 Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-8 Understanding Ideological Semantics....Pages 9-27 Perceptions of Parties’ Ideological Locations and the Generation Gap....Pages 29-52 Ideological Voting: Generational and Educational Effects....Pages 53-81 Comparing Ideological Labels....Pages 83-103 Profiling Radical Right Support....Pages 105-127 Conclusion....Pages 129-135 Back Matter....Pages 137-139