The Dominance of LDP

Online Session #4

My initial idea as to why the Liberal Democratic Party is still the dominating party in Japan is because of their popularity but as discussed by Ethan Scheiner in his talk, my initial idea was proven to be false. LDP lacks popularity among the Japanese population because of an economic collapse and political corruption. But despite being disliked by the population, LDP remains standing on top. There were a number of arguments Ethan Scheiner discussed which contributes to the longevity of LDP. First, LDP helped Japan regain their economic stability. Of course, who in their right mind would not want to vote for leaders who helped recover their country’s economy? Second, the LDP has appeal to the public. Third, LDP knows how to come up with a suitable policy that caters to the needs of the Japanese population. Ethan Scheiner explained that these were only parts of the reasons why LDP continues to be a hegemon. Another argument is that the LDP candidates have a greater advantage over the opposition candidates. In some cases, candidates from the opposition party, the DPJ, would run against a candidate from LDP who has a higher level of experience. There are also cases wherein a candidate from the LDP, despite having no experience in politics, still won victoriously against his opponents.

In the documentary “Campaign” directed by Kazuhiro Soda, a forty-year-old man was abruptly chosen by the Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro to run for a vacant seat in Kawasaki City. If Yamauchi Kazuhiro does not earn enough votes to win, his failure will overthrow LDP as the dominant party in Japan. Backed by the LDP, the party establishes a robust campaign team to publicize Yamauchi Kazuhiro to the people in Kawasaki City. The campaign team consisted of influential leaders. In the end, Yamauchi Kazuhiro won the election. This reflects the “desire of people maintain a ‘pipeline’” which was explained by Ethan Scheiner. In this context, what Ethan Scheiner meant by ‘pipeline’ is that on one part of the so called pipeline was a group of local LDP politicians who had connections with a national patron from the LDP. So basically, a local politician would ask assistance from a national politician who in turn would request support from the central government to aid for the needs of the local politician.

In conclusion, what accounts for the longevity of the Liberal Democratic Party is the people’s need to preserve a connection with the central government. This relationship helps cater their concerns and problems. Despite being unpopular and being disliked by the Japanese people, LDP remains to be a dominant party because of their experience, their overall performance and their effectiveness.