The Prime Ministers of Postwar Japan, 19451995: Their Lives and Times

(Hardback)

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This book examines the lives and times of Japans postwar prime ministers, covering the period from 1945 to 1995. Written by Japans leading scholars, it is the first English-language biographical portrait of these twenty-three individuals who helped lead Japan on its road to recovery, its return to the community of nations, and its subsequent prosperity. Each chapter brings out, to varying degrees, the larger political and historical environment, party dynamics, and personality traits of the prime ministers. In addition, the book discusses not only the policy choices the prime ministers made, but how those decisions were made and what the consequences were for the country, ruling party, and the individual who made them. The Prime Ministers of Postwar Japan, 19451995 fills a large void in the literature on postwar Japan by introducing the actual people who made the decisions during these important years, rather than simply discussing the theories and institutions in which those decisions were made.

Reviews

The Prime Ministers of Postwar Japan, 19451995 is a collection of short and polished biographies of twenty-three prime ministers of post-World War II Japan written by highly respected leading scholars. This book provides the best guidance for understanding the various difficult choices they faced and for understanding postwar Japanese history. -- Ryota Murai, Komazawa University
Translated into English from Japanese for the first time, The Prime Ministers of Postwar Japan, 19451995 is a must read for all of those who are interested in postwar Japanese history and seek deeper knowledge of the individual leaders who led Japan from the period of the Occupation through Japans rapid economic rise, and to the bursting of the economic bubble in the mid-1990s. This book provides insight as to how Japan has transformed itself, particularly in the area of national security, and reveals the crests and troughs of U.S.-Japan relations from Prime Minister Higashikuni to Murayama. -- Tosh Minohara, Kobe University

Author Bio

Akio Watanabe is vice chairman of the Research Institute for Peace and Security. Robert D. Eldridge is former associate professor of Japanese political and diplomatic history at Osaka University.