The Policymaking Process in Japan

Abstract

Abstract Long into the postwar period, the policymaking power of the Japanese prime minister was limited. The cabinet’s collective responsibility did not allow him to control the executive branch independently from the cabinet. The Cabinet Law divided the executive power among cabinet ministers, allowing the sectionalism that developed among different ministries. As a result, a bureaucratic supremacy developed in the policymaking process. The long-time governing party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), also developed a decentralized, bottom-up policymaking structure. As a result, the prime minister had difficulty exercising strong leadership in government decision-making. This situation changed after the 1994 electoral reform, which encouraged Diet members to become policy generalists and weakened the influence of the LDP policy subcommittees. Further, the administrative reform efforts under the Ryūtarō Hashimoto cabinet strengthened the authority of the prime minister and his cabinet. Benefiting from these institutional changes, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi introduced a top-down policymaking process. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) governments in 2009–2012 tried to further strengthen political leadership in policymaking. However, instead of political leadership, they created a weak bureaucracy with lowered moral. During the second Shinzō Abe government, the prime minister successfully established the cabinet-led policymaking system.