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New Electoral System and Party Realignment in Japan

Research Project

Project/Area Number 09420015
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Section一般
Research Field Politics
Research InstitutionKOBE UNIVERSITY

Principal Investigator

KUME Ikuo  Kobe University Faculty of Law Professor, 法学部, 教授 (30195523)

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) TATEBAYASHI Masahiko  Kansai University Faculty of Law Associate Professor, 法学部, 助教授 (30288790)
SUZUKI Motoshi  Kwansei Gakuin University School of Policy Studies Professor, 総合政策学部, 教授 (00278780)
AMIYA Ryousuke  Kobe University Faculty of Law Associate Professor, 法学部, 助教授 (40251433)
SHINADA Yutaka  Kobe University Faculty of Law Associate Professor, 法学部, 助教授 (10226136)
Project Period (FY) 1997 – 1998
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 1998)
Budget Amount *help
¥5,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,500,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥3,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000)
Keywordsparty / Electoral System / Election / rational choice / 選挙公約 / 政党再編成
Research Abstract

Recently, Japan has undergone a major change in the electoral law for the House of Representatives. The new law enacted in fall 1994 has installed a "parallel system" combining proportional representation (PR) and plurality rule or a small district (SMD) system. This study examines two types of sophisticated voting - strategic voting and strategic balancing - that can be operative in the parallel system. It is shown that the parallel system contains institutional provisions (double candidacies and the loser-winner ratio) that make SMD votes nonexclusive and transferable to the PR portion, hence reducing the extent of strategic voting and weakening a tendency toward local two-partism. When more than two effective parties compete in a plurality election, parties holding similar policy and political orientations ought to coordinate their candidates in order to prevent the opposing parties from gaining electoral victory. Under the parallel system, however, the parties have disincentives to coordinate. Thus, Downsian centrist policy pressures are not imposed upon the winning party formulating a new government. In order to pressure it toward centrist policy, moderate voters with two votes under the parallel system perform the acts of balancing so that a coalition government is formed to check policy extremism that is otherwise pursued by a pluralist party constituting the core of a new government. The extent of strategic balancing is found to be associated with the degree of opposition coordination failures.

Report

(3 results)
  • 1998 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report Summary
  • 1997 Annual Research Report
  • Research Products

    (11 results)

All Other

All Publications (11 results)

  • [Publications] 久米郁男: "社民勢力と政界再編" 神戸法学年報. 第14号. 227-249 (1999)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1998 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 品田裕: "選挙公約政策データについて" 神戸法学雑誌. 48巻1号. 507-538 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1998 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 建林正彦: "中小企業政策と選挙制度" 日本政治学会1997年年報. 1997年号. 177-196 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1998 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] IKUO KUME: "Social Democrats and Party Realignment in Japan" Kobe Annals of Law and Politics. No.14. 227-249 (1999)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1998 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] YUTAKA SHINADA: "Making the Data of Japanese Politicians' Policy Preferences at the 1990's General Elections" Kobe Law Journal. Vol.48 No.1. 507-538 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1998 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] MASAHIKO TATEBAYASHI: "Electoral Institutions and Public Policy for Small and Medium-seized Enterprises" The Annuals of The Japanese Political Science Association. Vol.1997. 177-196 (1998)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1998 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 久米 郁男: "「社民勢力と政界再編」" 神戸法学年報. 第14号. (印刷中) (1999)

    • Related Report
      1998 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 品田 裕: "「選挙公約政策データについて」" 神戸法学雑誌. 48巻1号. 507-538 (1998)

    • Related Report
      1998 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 建林 正彦: "「中小企業政策と選挙制度」" 日本政治学会1997年年報. 1997年号. 177-196 (1998)

    • Related Report
      1998 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 建林正彦: "中小企業政策と選挙制度" 年報政治学. 1997. 177-196 (1997)

    • Related Report
      1997 Annual Research Report
  • [Publications] 久米邦男・品田 裕: "選挙公約データの作成と分析-旧社会・民社党議員の事例-" 神戸法学雑誌. 48・1(予定). (1998)

    • Related Report
      1997 Annual Research Report

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Published: 1997-04-01   Modified: 2016-04-21  

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