HEREDITARY MPS (SESHYU: GIIN) IN THE POLITICAL SYSTEM F MODERN JAPAN: COMPARATIVE AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

• Main Author: P. A. Antonov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Jurist, Publishing Group 2019-05-01
• Series: Sravnitelʹnaâ Politika
• Subjects: northeast asia; japan; ldp; the cabinet of ministers of japan; hereditary mps; political dynastie
• Online Access: https://www.comparativepolitics.org/jour/article/view/970
• ISSN: 2221-3279; 2412-4990

The author analyzes the phenomenon of “seshyu: giin” in the political life of modern Japan, defines the share of hereditary politicians in the Parliament and the Government of Japan, assesses the influence of the leader’s origin on the country's domestic and external policy, using the biographies of Japanese leading politicians and their approach to the actual domestic and foreign issues. “Hereditary politicians” in Japan have consistently maintained a high percentage of representation at the level of 20-30% of the total number of MPs, the share of “seshyu giin” rises to 50-60% at the level of the leadership of the LDP, parliamentary committees, heads of ministries. This phenomenon reflects the transformation of politics in Japan into a “family business” (“kagyo: ka”). An indirect evidence to this thesis is also the fact that nine of the fourteen PMs who headed the cabinet of ministers of Japan during the Heisei era (1989 ‒ nowadays.) can be classified as “seshyu: giin”. The analysis makes possible to make a number of practical conclusions. Preparing analytical forecasts regarding changes in the Japanese political elite, as well as the configuration of future Cabinet Ministers, it is necessary to take into account not only information about the ideological views of politicians, connections with a particular party, but also family ties. It seems logical that in the coming years the Prime Minister and ministerial posts will be occupied by such politicians as Koizumi S., Kishida F., Kono T., Nakasone J.. The Russian side should pay special attention to building relationship of mutual trust with the abovementioned politicians through intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary dialogue mechanisms.