Chapter Thirty-Six. Political parties in an ageing society

Abstract

The ageing society in Japan presents formidable policy challenges for the political system and the political parties in Japan. This chapter explains the basic outlines of institutions and parties in Japanese politics, how the electoral process works, how the governing coalition and opposition parties develop policy. It also explains the relative success of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in recent elections, the origin and development of the LDP and major opposition parties in the House of Representatives, and their recent policy positions regarding policy in the ageing society. The chapter focuses more on LDP party politics, but also features the coalition partner since 1999, the New Kōmei Party, which is vital for the governing coalition majority in the House of Councillors. Keywords: ageing society; Japanese politics; liberal democratic party (LDP); New Kōmei Party