The authors argue that with the election of the Abe Government in
December 2012, Japanese politics has entered a radically new phase
they describe as the "2012 Political System." The system began with
the return to power of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), after
three years in opposition, but in a much stronger electoral
position than previous LDP-based administrations in earlier
decades. Moreover, with the decline of previously endemic
intra-party factionalism, the LDP has united around an essentially
nationalist agenda never absent from the party's ranks, but in the
past was generally blocked, or modified, by factions of more
liberal persuasion. Opposition weakness following the severe defeat
of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration in 2012 has
also enabled the Abe Government to establish a political stability
largely lacking since the 1990s. The first four chapters deal with
Japanese political development since 1945 and factors leading to
the emergence of Abe Shinzo as Prime Minister in 2012. Chapter 5
examines the Abe Government's flagship economic policy, dubbed
"Abenomics." The authors then analyse four highly controversial
objectives promoted by the Abe Government: revision of the 1947
'Peace Constitution'; the introduction of a Secrecy Law; historical
revision, national identity and issues of war apology; and revised
constitutional interpretation permitting collective defence. In the
final three chapters they turn to foreign policy, first examining
relations with China, Russia and the two Koreas, second Japan and
the wider world, including public diplomacy, economic relations and
overseas development aid, and finally, the vexed question of how
far Japanese policies are as reactive to foreign pressure. In the
Conclusion, the authors ask how far right wing trends in Japan
exhibit common causality with shifts to the right in the United
States, Europe and elsewhere. They argue that although in Japan
immigration has been a relatively minor factor, economic
stagnation, demographic decline, a sense of regional insecurity in
the face of challenges from China and North Korea, and widening
gaps in life chances, bear comparison with trends elsewhere.
Nevertheless, they maintain that "[a] more sane regional future may
be possible in East Asia."
General
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