Ellis Krauss' New Book Receives Positive Review From The Japan Times
LDP: fall of Japan's political machine
03/06/2011
Jeff Kingston,
The Japan Times
Japanese politics is in a sad state these days with the media likening Diet debate to flatulence. Voters' expectations soared when the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a landslide victory over the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in August 2009, taking control over both houses of the Diet.
The DPJ, however, has disappointed ever since with fumbling leadership and lost control of the Upper House in July 2010.
Deadlock in the Diet courtesy of the LDP has disillusioned voters and means that Japan's huge problems fester.
In this excellent book the authors examine the inner workings of the LDP since it was established in 1955, a critically important topic given its dominant role in Japanese politics until 2009. It is a fascinating analysis of the institutions within the LDP and how they evolved over time.
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Ellis Krauss is a leading expert on Japanese politics, U.S.-Japan relations, and Japan's political economy. In 2010, Cornell University Press published his latest book, co-authored with Robert Pekkanen of the University of Washington, The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Institutions.
He can provide commentary on domestic politics in Japan, the Japanese mass media, U.S.-Japan relations and Japan's foreign policy and role in Asia.
