Connections matter: Institutionalization of LDP's relations with the CCP

Abstract

AbstractSince the beginning of the 1990s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan has tried to institutionalize contacts with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Until 2009, the Sino‐Japanese Conference of Exchange Between the Ruling Parties did little to build ties of trust between both sides, but its revival in 2015 proved much more successful. This article argues that as the institutionalized channels were prone to disturbance caused by ideological leanings of party officials, they did not work as efficiently as sub‐party level of exchange. The weakening of LDP factions and centralization of decision‐making process under the Prime Minister, however, contributed to shortages of Japan's semi‐official diplomacy towards China, which detrimentally influenced bilateral contacts, especially under the second Abe administration. Paradoxically, since 2015 the revived Conference started playing a more important role thanks to determination of LDP secretaries‐general. This article examines the gravity of these personal factors in LDP–CCP relations.