PARTY COiPETiTION IN KECEKT JAPANESE ELECTIOES by %l^ HSSD-HSIANG if/AKO P.. !., Rational Taiwan University, 1959 A MASTER'S THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Politics! Science KANSAS STATE UH17E5SITY Manhattan, Kansas 1968 <£j—y Hajor r'rofesso; 7/ lU ?„ ti\fij3S~ PREFACE This thesis, entitled Party Competition in Hecent Japanese Elections , attempts to explore the interactions between political parties and elections in the recent scene of Japan. ..'by was this subject chosen? Before answer- ing this question there will be a brief examination of the reasons why- people study political parties. President Ayub Khan of Pakistan is said to have once (in October, 1?>8) considered political parties the major source of the social "mess," and had decided to abolish all political parties in Pakistan. Several years after this decision, he joined a political party (in Hay, 1963), sadly saying: Someone asked me the other day, 'Why have you joined a political party? 1 The reason is simply that I have failed to play this game in accordance with my rules, and so I have to play in accordance with their rules —and the rules demand that I belong to somebody; otherwise who is going to belong to mo?-1- Hot a modern or modernizing country in this century can escape fron the existence of the political party. Indeed, in the politics of democracy, political parties are fought over, not only in election years but daily. In authoritarian countries although only the government-sponsored party is allowed to function properly, the political elite deem it necessary to cloak a facade of the existence of several "opposition" parties, euphemistically coining the official party as the "revolutionary party." In the totalitarian countries, such as in the Soviet system, parties deviate from their proper function in that the Communist party is, as a matter of fact, Integrated into the state: yet to garb in party disguise is also regarded as Hmeian • . Pye, "Party Systems and Rational Development in Asia," in Joseph LaPalombara et al. (eds.), Political Parties and —Political Developmen t (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1J66 ) , p . 3o?T s indispensable. Today, the political party in one form or another is omnipresent in developed or developing nations, and may, as Sigmund NeosUBin has put it, be the "lifeline of modem politics."' Japan has had almost a century's experience with political parties. Her model is different from the ".•fostern one, yet similar to that of most of the non-Western in that the idea of party and the ideologies of the parties are of Western origin; whereas the organizational structure and node of operation reflect a flavor of its own traditional culture— a typical characteristic common in most c! the non-.jestern party models. Thus, in a day of developing nations, an examination of the Japanese party model may serve as a clue to the over-all understanding of non-/.: estern political processes. Political parties can be studied in terms of their ideologies, organi- sation, leadership, membership recruitment, political articulation, and/or competition in elections. The approach in this work is narrowed to the rivalry in elections chiefly because it is believed that to run a government is the primary raison d'etre of the parties. <'nd the road to government in a parliamentary democracy—Japan is one —is usually through the successful competition in the election process. It is primarily for this reason that this study is dedicated to the discovery of the relationship between parties and elections. Moreover, this research will be confined to the discussion of the recent scene (particularly since I960) because it is felt that Scalapino-Masumi ' celebrated book has answered most of the questions of Japan's party ^Sigmund I'eumann (ed.), Modern Politic al Parties : Approaches to Comparative Poli tics (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 195^), p. 1. experimentation up to i960.' This work will be divided into five raejor sections. Chapter I will introduce the Japanese parties, their origin, development, characteristics, and, their present-day outlook. Chapter II will introduce the expansion of the electorate and the major election regulations. Chapter III will discuss the recent three elections for the House of Representatives analyzing their pattern of competition in the 1960-1967 period in order to establish a base for the discussion in the following chapters. Chapter IV will suggest some voting behaviors and explain their social determinism, using voting records and electorate opinion surveys as the major tools of analysis. The last chapter (Chapter V) will discuss the prospects of Japanese parties to see if a new party system can be suggested for the next decade. Meanwhile, the discussion will be broadened to include the nature of party competitions in the House of Councillors election and in local elections, Integrating the whole system. This writer would like to express his appreciation to Professor William V,'. Boyer, whose constant advice and encouragement have been the writer's guidance throughout his graduate study at the Kansas State University. Iir. Satoru Yamamoto of the Kinistry cf Local Autonomy, Government of Japan, has kindly provided the writer with official voting records together with a survey report on Japanese voting behavior, which otherwise would have been unavailable to him. Mr« Xujiro i-.aeda of the Mainichi Shimbun has made suggestions on locating information to this research. To them both, the writer acknowledges his deep indebtedness. This writer's Robert A. Scaiapino and Junnosuke f.asumi, Parties and Politics in Contemporary J apan (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 19627, 190 pp. deepest thanfcs, however, go to Trofessor Louis H. Douglas, who has served as the writer's adviser, critic, and teacher. Finally, deep gratitude is due the writer's wife, Yoshi, for her constant encouragement. The mistakes which remain are, of course, the writer's own. TABLE OF SOHTSHTS PAGE PREFACE iil LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xii CHAPTER '. I. JAPANESE POLITICAL PAHTIES .. 1 Party Development in Japan 3 Characteristics of the Japanese Parties 11 Kajor Parties in Contemporary Japan 21 II. JAPANESE BLECTICKS UO The Concept of Election 1|0 Japanese Electorate U6 Japanese Representation Systein US Japanese Election Frocess 51 III. PARTI CCMPEOTIOK IK REOEET JAPAKESE OEKEFAL KLT.CTIOfSS 6? Introduction 67 Party Competition in Seeking Electoral Support 76 Voter's Response to the Parties Seeking Support 87 IV. J/_PAtAESE VOTTEC BEHAVIOR REFLECTED IE RECSHT QESBRAL ELECTIONS V/ITH RESPECT TO PARTY COKPETITIOE 110 IntrotKiction 110 The Voter and the Party 119 Prefectural Characteristics and Party (or Force) Support .... 126 V. PROSPECTS OF JAPANESE PARTI OOXPETETION 16J The Changing Society and the Possible Fluctuation of Party Strength 16$ viii PACE The 5:ature cf Party Competition in the i'.est of the Ai-eas (House of Councillors and Local C-overnnent) and the Future of Japanese Party DevelopHent l'/6 APPENDIX 179 BIBLIOCBfiOT 195 ABSTRACT LIST 0? TABLES Table Page 1. Expansion of the Japanese Electorate »8 2. Types of Successful Candidates in the General Elections .... 61 3. General Elections of Japan, 191(6-1958: Seats in the House of Representatives, by Party 70 ll. General Elections of Japan, 19U6-1S58: Share in Popular_ Vote in Percentage, by Party , . • • • 71 £. General Elections of Japan, 19!|6-195H: Seats in the House of Representatives, by Force 72 6. General Elections of Japan, 19U6-1953: Share in Popular Voto in Percentage, by Force 73 7. General Elections of Japan, 19li6-195'8: Seat Turnouts vis-a-vis Vote Turnouts, Both in Percentage 7h 8. Kost Frequent VJords Spoken by the Candidates in 19$$ General Election ..... 83 9. Kost Frequent Contents Referred to by Candidates in 1955 Japanese Election 8p 10. General Elections of Japan, 1960-1967: Seats in the House of Representatives in Percentage, at National bevel, by Party and Force 89 11. General Elections of Japan, 1960-1967= Share in Popular Vote in Percentage, at Eational Level, by Party and by Force 90 12. General Elections of Japan, 1960-19&7: Seat Turnouts vis-a-vis Vote Turnouts in Percentage, at l.aticnai Level, by Party and Force 91 - 13. Size of Expansion of the Party and the Force: A Comparison between the Marginal (1967) Turnouts and the Average (1960- 1967) Turnouts of Seats and Votes in General Elections .... 92 lit. Rate of Expansion of the Party and the Force: A Comparison between the Marginal (1967) Turnouts and the Average (1960- I967) Turnouts of Seats and Votes in General Elections .... 93 lj. Regional Expansion of Party Support: A Comparison between Marginal (1967) Turnouts and Average Turnouts in Vote in Ger.er?! Elections of Japan, 196O-I967, by Party. 109 Table Page 16. Relation of Demographic Characters sties and Candidate Image to the Political Parties in 1963 General Election of Japan (in Percentage) 127 17. Voter's Tost Decisive Reason to Support the Tarty in the 1963 General Election of Japan . 12?A 18. Relation of Urbanization to Prefecture! Support of Various Parties in the General Election of Japan, 196O-I967 133 19. Relation of Urbanization to the Expansion of Prefecture^ Support of Various Parties as RefJ.ected in the General", " Elections of Japan, 1960-1967 133' 20. Relation of Urbanization to Prefectural Support of Various Forces in the General Election of Japan, 1960-1967 137 21. Relation of Urbanization to the Expansion of Prefectural Support of Various Forces as Reflected in the General Elections of Japan, 1960-1967 137 22. Relation of Industrialization to Prefectural Support of Various Parties in the General. Elections of Japan, I96O-1967 139 23. Relation of Industrialization to the Expansion of Prefectural Support of Various Parties as Reflected in the General Elections of Japan, 1960-1967 lh.1 2I4.