Re: [tlug] (OT) The enigma of Japan

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Doug McLean writes:

 > Regarding other examples, another one that comes to mind of a "locked"
 > system is the Philippines.  It is a functional democracy in the sense
 > that, aside from Marcos's rule, the presidential system has held firm
 > since its independence from the US and later Japan.   The catch is
 > that the same political families get elected in the Congress over and
 > over and over again.

Where *doesn't* that happen?

 > Presidents can span generations of family (current president Gloria
 > Macapagal's father was president too).

Bush-league presidencies run in families in the U.S., too.

 > Most researchers agree that their two main parties are not so
 > different based on ideology as they are on power structure,
 > patronage, etc.

But this is true in most any two party system, as JC has pointed out.
There's a pile of political-economic theory explaining this in terms
of "single-peaked preference distribution" in the electorate.  What's
special about Japan is that in a parliamentary system it nonetheless
has a single party with a lock on power.

 > But we have to be careful to spell out under what conditions Japan
 > could be considered unique.  Earlier in our discussion the it was
 > implied that Japan is somewhat unique in the world, and I don't
 > disagree but feel it's a bit exaggerated compared to other
 > lesser-known parts of the world.  As a first-world, industrialized
 > country, one could definitely argue its unique among first-world,
 > industrialized countries (since the rest are all Western,
 > non-Asian/Confucian).

That doesn't help, not foreigners trying to live in Japan, nor the
Japanese people who aspire to reform.  The reason for insisting on a
working democracy is that it's nearly a prerequisite for nonviolent,
popular change.  Uniqueness as "non-Western", "Asian/Buddhist", is not
very helpful, in fact it's starting to border on nihonjinron.