Introduction
Since the outbreak of the Cold War and the growing tension between the US and defeated Japan, the Japanese government had no other option but to revolutionize its approach to political power and economic growth. As a result, Japan witnessed what others called an “economic miracle,” expanding the country’s economic power to become the world’s largest economy after the US (Curtis, 1999). Such success has been linked to the long-lasting and rapidly developing power of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan, which took office in 1955. Since then, Japan’s political leadership was associated with the party, as LDP has been a leading political power in the country, with the exception of two times when the Democratic Party took over the ruling of the state. Although there are many studies that dwell on the case of LDP and its success, the popularity and national devotion to the party remain rather vague. Based on the readings, it can be assumed that modern Japanese society strongly associates the ruling of LDP as an indicator of the beneficial development of the nation.
Power of Electoral Mobilization
One argument favoring this idea is the fact that for many years, LDP has had little or no opposition whatsoever, creating an illusion that the existing political ruling pattern is the most promising path for the country. The phenomenon of this unity is known as the concept of electoral mobilization, which stands for the development of an extensive support system for the potential electorate by paying attention to their lives and subconsciously associating positive emotion with the political party in the office. According to Richardson and Patterson (2001), “Japanese candidates’ emphasis on personal campaigns has been said to have cultural roots because such campaigns use existing social organizations and networks for political purposes” (p. 96). As a result, intertwining social sentiment with the political movement has created a strong sense of attachment to the system, even when the functionality of the political system itself fails.
The Environment of LDP Thrive
Since the experience of an economic miracle, Japanese politics have been strongly associated with developmental direction and the growing relevance of democracy. According to Johnson (1999), the underlying success of Japan concerns the fact that “it must, first of all, be a developmental state – and only then a regulatory state, a welfare state, an equality state, or whatever other kinds of functional state a society may wish to adopt” (p. 37). As a result, it may be assumed that at the time of the political formation of the state, the electoral education of the state has been focused on power accumulation to secure development, creating a strong sense of social dependence on LDP’s development as a foundation for democracy and economic freedom of the population. Indeed, the ruling of the LDP has been perceived as an indicator of growth, whereas the environmental context of other ruling parties has been associated with social challenges, even if it is a natural disaster that has little correlation with the politics in the office.
Conclusion
The phenomenon of the economic miracle and development of democracy under the unanimous ruling of one party has been of interest to scholars since the introduction of the “’55 system.” However, while many researchers tend to explain the LDP’s success through the means of their socio-political and economic agenda, the fundamental aspect of Japanese politics depends heavily on the social sentiment and system behind the party formation. Hence, it may be concluded that the research on the Japanese should focus on the social response to the one-party system in the democratic setting and the change they are willing to see.
References
Curtis, G. L. (1999). The logic of Japanese politics: Leaders, institutions, and the limits of change. Columbia University Press.
Johnson, C. (1999). The developmental state: Odyssey of a concept. In The developmental state (ed. by M. Woo-Cumings, Cornell University Press, pp. 32-43).
Richardson, B., & Patterson, D. (2001). Political traditions and political change: The significance of postwar Japanese politics for political science. Annual Review of Political Science, 4, 93-115.