List of Tables and Figures vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations and Stylistic Conventions xv
Chapter 1: Why Study Japanese Political Economy? 1
Chapter 2: Japanese History and Culture 15
Chapter 3: Japan's Political Experiments 32
Chapter 4: The Old Japanese Politics, 1955-1993 53
Chapter 5: Japan's Postwar Political Economy 72
Chapter 6: Japan's New Politics 95
Chapter 7: Japan's New Political Economy 123
Chapter 8: Japan's Place in the World 155
Chapter 9: Conclusions 174
Epilogue: The 2009 General Election and the LDP's Fall from Power 186
Appendix 1. Japanese Electoral Systems, 1947-Present 193
Appendix 2. Election Results, House of Representatives, 1986-2005 195
Appendix 3. Election Results, House of Councillors, 1986-2007 201
Bibliography 207
Index 233

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.

Frances McCall Rosenbluth is the Damon Wells Professor of International Politics at Yale University. Michael F. Thies is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.