This Open Access book provides a comprehensive analysis of political reforms in Japan since the
1990s emphasizing the role of ideas in shaping their goals and outcomes. For more than fifteen
years following the collapse of Japan's economic bubble politicians business people and
academics tackled a range of institutional reforms. The sweeping changes they enacted-covering
almost all facets of the public sphere including elections public administration courts and
the central bank-fundamentally altered Japanese political processes and policies. Taken
together they arguably represent the final touches of Japan's political modernization which
had been unfolding since the mid-19th century. Throughout the reform process advocates were
inspired by a combination of liberal and modernist ideas. This book examines those guiding
concepts and illustrates the often messy process of applying them to real-world institutions.
While most reforms began from common goals they ultimately produced different-and frequently
unexpected-institutional outcomes which continue to shape Japanese politics. By focusing on
the relationship between the ideas and processes that shaped Japan's reforms this book
presents a broad vision of institutional change in comparative politics.
