Japanese Democracy in the Aftermath of the 2024 Elections

with Professor Koichi Nakano One-party dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been shaken by the loss of a majority for the governing coalition in the October 27 election. Where is Japan headed? Will Japan return to another era of a frequent turnover of prime ministers? Can the LDP reconstitute a viable ruling framework? Or can the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) present a credible alternative ahead of the Upper House election in summer next year? What is the impact of the US elections on Japanese politics? What a the policy implications of the state of flux? Koichi Nakano is Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University, and Visiting Scholar at the Weatherhead Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at Harvard University (2024-2025). He specializes in the comparative politics of advanced industrial democracies, with a focus on Japan, and in political theory.