Japan Decides 2012 ― The Japanese General Election

Over the past ten years, elections in Japan have attained a new level of excitement and importance for the government and people of Japan. In this first book of the series, the following titles to appear after each General Election of the House of Representatives in Japan, an impressive role call of contributors explore Japan's General Election of 2012, an election that was characterised by the return to power of the LDP, the growth in popularity of smaller 'outsider' parties as well as the concomittant demise of Japan's first 'opposition' government in the DPJ. The resulting volume boasts original and high-quality analysis by top scholars from Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. With chapters focussing on a variety of facets of the election including the major political parties, important policy issues, campaign practices and gender, this volume provides a comprehensive analysis and explanation of the results of the election, as such, it is vital reading for all those interested in Japanese Politics as well as elections in general.

Robert Pekkanen is Associate Professor in the University of Washington Jackson School of 'US International Studies. He is the author of a number of articles and books on Japanese and comparative politics, including Japan's Dual Civil Society and The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions.

Steven R. Reed is Professor of Modern Government at Chuo University, Japan. He has written widely on Japanese and comparative parties and elections. Most recently, he has edited Japanese Electoral Politics: Creating a New Party System, and Political Change in Japan: Electoral Behavior, Party Realignment, and the Koizumi Reforms.

Ethan Scheiner is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis, USA. His is the author of Democracy Without Competition in Japan: Opposition Failure in a One-Party Dominant State and Electoral Systems and Political Context: How the Effects of Rules Vary Across New and Established Democracies.