Japanese Politics

Alisa Dutkiewicz
FDR High School
Brooklyn, New York City

Aim: Why is the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) losing its political dominance in Japan?

Instructional Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1. Identify the current structure of the Japanese constitution.
2. Analyze the similarities and differences between the US and the Japanese governments.
3. Determine why the LDP is losing its appeal among younger voters.

Materials:
1. Handout on the organization of the current Japanese Government. A good source of information online is the web site http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2136.html.
2. Cooke, Kieran. "Japan's LDP Faces Poll Test." BBC June 20, 2000. Available online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/797579.stm.
3. Slides of modern Japan.

Procedure:
1. Distribute to students a handout on the organization of the current Japanese government. Explain that the Japanese Constitution was created during the allied occupation of Japan immediately following World War II, and was modeled on the US Constitution.

2. Ask students to review the following questions:
a) What similarities do you see between the Japanese and the US governments?
b) What differences?
c) Which of the two systems puts the power more decisively in the hands of the people? Why?
Divide the class into groups of four by having students number off from 1-4, and assign the following roles:

Member 1: reporter (to the class)
Member 2: reader (to the group)
Member 3: recorder (of all group responses)
Member 4: discussion leader (begins the discussion for the group)

Discuss the groups' findings with the class and create a class list of the similarities and differences between the two government systems. The groups should surmise that the US system appears to put more power directly in the hands of the people because the U.S. President is elected by the people, while the Japanese Prime Minister is elected by the diet.

3. Explain to the class that, although there are many political parties in Japan, one party has dominated the country more or less since the end of World War II - the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

4. Distribute the BBC article to the class. Either have the students read the article quietly or as a class. Ask the students to work in their small groups to create a list of reasons why the LDP is losing its popularity. Review the groups' answers with the entire class.

5. Explain to the students that although the LDP was victorious (increasing their seats in the lower house from 95 to127), the 2000 election yielded signs of increasing change. Thirty-five women were elected to the lower house of the diet and although they represent only 7% of the lawmakers, it is the highest number of females elected since 1946.

6. Explain to the class that a visit to Japan provides signs of increasing cultural changes. Share with the students pictures of modern Japan in order to show the competing influences (traditional and modern) in the lives of Japanese people. Shrines, temples, and Geishas exist beside a modern and increasingly diverse metropolis in Japanese cities.

Summary:
1. How is the Japanese government similar to the government of the United States?
2. Why was it considered a mistake on the part of the LDP to invoke the idea that Japan is a divine nation? What images might this analogy recall for many Japanese?
3. How are the younger Japanese moving away from the traditions of their society?

Application:
Have students identify Japanese influences on popular culture. They can research modern Japanese video games, cartoons, fashion designers and musicians. Ask the students to evaluate the modern and traditional influences in contemporary Japanese culture.

Bibliography:
De Bary, Wm. Theodore, ed., Introduction to Asian Civilizations. Vol.1, Sources of Japanese Tradition, compiled by Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary, and Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press, 1958.