Social and Political Sources of Political Fragmentation in Japan

Abstract

J APANESE POLITICAL PARTIES do not differ from other political parties in their internal fragmentation; the difference is in degree. All political parties in Japan, with the possible exception of the political arm of the Soka Gakkai, are divided into organized sub-groups called kabatsu (factions). Each has a leader, a fund-raising program, and campaigns for its members' election. In a real sense, these factions are small political parties which are parts of a broader coalition known as the political party. This paper concerns itself with the search for greater knowledge of this political force in Japan, with a particular focus on some political and social aspects of Japanese society which account in part for the formalization and continuity of political party fragmentation.: