Japan Decides 2017 The Japanese General Election

“Japan Decides 2017 is an excellent book for those who are interested in a snapshot of the most recent Japanese elections. As the third book in a series on Japanese election it is a valuable addition to our understanding of why the same party almost always wins in Japan.” (Ronald J Hrebenar, Party Politics, Vol. 26 (6), 2020)



“The series is a boon for research and teaching, but should also prove useful for foreign policy professionals and political risk consultants. Indeed, anyone with an interest in Japanese politics would benefit from reading the invaluable Japan Decides 2017 and its companion volumes.” (Gregory W. Noble, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 93 (1), 2020)



“I would highly recommend this book to experts and students alike. This new volume, and the whole series, is fast becoming central to the study of Japanese elections.” (Gill Steel, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Vol. 20 (2), June, 2019)

Robert J. Pekkanen is Professor at the University of Washington, USA.  He has published nine books on politics, most recently co-editing The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems (2018), as well as articles in   the American Political Science Review, the British Journal of Political Science and Comparative Political Studies .

Steven R. Reed is Professor at Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan. He has recently published Political Corruption and Scandals in Japan (with Matthew M. Carlson, 2018). He has published in the British Journal of Political Science and the American Journal of Political Science as well as numerous other academic journals.

Ethan Scheiner is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis, USA. He is the author of Democracy Without Competition in Japan: Opposition Failure in a One-Party Dominant State (2005) and Electoral Systems and Political Context: How the Effects of Rules Vary across New and Established Democracies (with Robert G. Moser, 2012), as well as a variety of journal articles.

Daniel M. Smith is Associate Professor of Government at Harvard University, USA. He is the author of Dynasties and Democracy: The Inherited Incumbency Advantage in Japan (2018) and numerous articles and book chapters on political parties and elections.