Constituency Politics at the Crossroads in Japan

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This project has focused on electoral politics in contemporaryJapan and aimed to understand changes in the relationship between politicians (mainly National Diet members) and constituencies as well as the relationship between politicians. In addition, this project has also attempted to identify the determinants of these changes empirically. Through extensive quantitative studies and detailed case studies at the district level, we have explained changing Japan’s electoral politics. We have broadly discussed various themes such as politicians’ electoral campaigns and legislative activities, their career path, the interaction between politicians and constituencies or between legislators, and parties’ national and local organizations. Our project has finally ranged over how the Diet or electoral systems should be. We believe that our project has provided unique contributions to understanding electoral politics in contemporary Japan.