Japan Transformed: Political Change and Economic Restructuring

by Frances McCall Rosenbluth, Michael F. Thies

With little domestic fanfare and even less attention internationally, Japan has been reinventing itself since the 1990s, dramatically changing its political economy, from one managed by regulations to one with a neoliberal orientation. Rebuilding from the economic misfortunes of its recent past, the country retains a formidable economy and its political system is healthier than at any time in its history. Japan Transformed explores the historical, political, and economic forces that led to the country's recent evolution, and looks at the consequences for Japan's citizens and global neighbors.


The book examines Japanese history, illustrating the country's multiple transformations over the centuries, and then focuses on the critical and inexorable advance of economic globalization. It describes how global economic integration and urbanization destabilized Japan's postwar policy coalition, undercut the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's ability to buy votes, and paved the way for new electoral rules that emphasized competing visions of the public good. In contrast to the previous system that pitted candidates from the same party against each other, the new rules tether policymaking to the vast swath of voters in the middle of the political spectrum. Regardless of ruling party, Japan's politics, economics, and foreign policy are on a neoliberal path.



Japan Transformed combines broad context and comparative analysis to provide an accurate understanding of Japan's past, present, and future.

Genres: Japan, Economics

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ant · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I'm no great fan of neo liberalism, however this book dealt more with how Japan changed as opposed to why it should, which was a concern for me on the outset as one of the books sponsors was the think tank, Council on Foreign relations.
The language of the book is technical but still manages to give itself a softer edge than your standard text book. If my eyes glazed over many passages, it was due to repetition & looking at the same thing from various angles than the density of the writing.
There was not as much 'message' as I'd feared. It was more historical why's & how's which was very interesting & appeared unbiased. Many of the points were backed up with references to Rosenbluth's own writings which I found annoying & reduced the objectivity of what was being said at times. However it wasn't presented as an argument & there was no great support for neo liberalism in general. It simply discussed the facts of a nation who's economy become huge due to much one sided trade & whose economy subsequently shrunk when natural forces of Globalisation caused distortions & pressures which it could not escape on the international market. True, there has been, & still is a lot of cronyism in Japanese politics. True, Koizumi attempted to destroy this by going against his own parties policies to the delight of the public. What I find disturbing about this book however is the Japanese history which it lays down merely to show that a nations customs & identity can change to suit existing circumstance (economic). Disturbing because I love Japanese culture with its basis in honour & Pride. It is this very honour & pride which may be a stumbling block in the acquiescence to a Japan integrating into the Global economy, by taking in 'American' style products, media & entertainment & fashion as well as the necessity for multiculturalism as cheap labour is required to compete with other manufacturing nations. In short, a Japan that integrates into Globalisation will be a Japan no more but simply another America, Australia, New Zealand. Rosenbluth writes that the remaining ethic of "Bushido", the honour of Samurai, will eventually give way to modern trade & a competitive workplace, replacing a system which up until recently took on workers 'for life', giving them security & growing responsibilities with age. Rosenbluth incorrectly states that this was biased against women who were not able to gain such positions, when I know for a fact that positions in large companies 'for life' were given as opportunities for both sexes, and there was equal opportunity in family businesses which ar now being wiped out by neo liberalism. Many women also preferred to stay home & rear children. While this may seem sexist to many western minds, it is quite natural to the Japanese mind especially considering that individualism is much stronger in the west while in Japan the family is much closer & atomically structured, with loyalty positioned at the centre rather than the individual. Rosenbluth puts these stumbling blocks down to cultural aspects that are both undesirable & changeable. I believe this is a western view. I find it less desirable to have an economy which forces both parents to work, leaving children in the hands of professional child carers, away from the family. Rosenbluth also does little to persuade the reader as to why, after so much restructuring, Japans economy is still faltering, & does not bring to light the fact that its economy has indeed been suffering since these changes. Sorry, as I said, I'm no fan of neo liberalism.
In summary, its a good book to give one an idea on why Japans politics has changed recently, however I feel the conclusions it draws about where Japan is heading may be misguided, considering the strength of its cultural heritage.

[Ebonique Boyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book treats Japanese voters as if they are a monolith that only want to encourage a socialist government. It ignores Koizumi's Reaganesque air of cutting subsidies and doesn't talk clearly about how that might have been attractive to voters. Rather it prefers to insist on Koizumi's personality as the major factor of his appeal. This is one of the most liberal Japanese politics books I have ever read. The disregard the authors have toward both the Japanese voters and politicians made me sick. Towards the end of the book, the condescension went so far as even referring to the politicians as "pigs to the trough (p.160).