Japan's Multilayered Democracy

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This book introduces a multilayered approach to the study of democracy, combining specific knowledge of Japan with theoretical insights from the literature on democratization. It examines different aspects of Japanese democracyhistorical, institutional, and socioculturalto provide a conscious understanding of the nature and practice of democracy, both in Japan and beyond. The book's chapters give testimony to the dynamic nature and continuity of Japanese democracy and analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The central argument of this book is that Japans democratization should be seen as a multilayered experience shaped by the gradual process of absorbing democratic ideas, forming democratic institutions, and practicing democratic behaviors and rituals at various levels of society. As the case of Japan shows, democracy is neither a structured formula nor only a set of democratic laws and institutions, but a continuous, gradual process.

Reviews

This is a truly fascinating book, adopting a multilayered and interdisciplinary approach to the comprehensive study of Japanese democracy. This book encompasses a lengthy time span, dating from the late 19th century to the present day, and readers will be able to understand and appreciate how Japanese democracy changed over this time. This book is a must read, not only for specialists of Japanese studies but also for graduate students and undergraduate students alike, who are interested in Japan, Japanese studies, or democracy in general. -- Yoneyuki Sugita, Osaka University
Japans Multilayered Democracy offers a variety of innovative perspectives on Japans democracy. The book rejects parsimony but strives instead for a holistic approach, searching for and shedding a new light on issues, incidents, angles, and contexts which have not been given due attention in the prevailing mono-causal documentations of Japan. Readers will enjoy some chapters as presenting fresh details of forgotten but important cases and others as providing nuanced and highly original interpretations. Addressing to the wide range of academic disciplines, the book is sure to form a multilayered platform upon which many debates about modern Japan will take place in the near future. -- Masaru Kohno, Waseda University
Japan can claim one of the oldest parliamentary systems in the non-Western world, yet democracy proved fragile in the prewar era and less than robust in the decades since 1945. Written from a variety of perspectives, these essays probe the measure, problems, and promise of democracy in modern Japan. -- Sheldon Garon, Princeton University

Author Bio

Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti is senior lecturer of political science and Japanese studies at Beit Berl College. Nissim Otmazgin is senior lecturer of modern Japanese history and politics at the Department of Asian Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Alon Levkowitz is lecturer and coordinator of the Asian Studies Program at Bar-Ilan University.