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Satoshi MACHIDORI, Dynasties and Democracy: The Inherited Incumbency Advantage in Japan, Social Science Japan Journal, Volume 24, Issue 1, Winter 2021, Pages 237–239, https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/jyaa027
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Abe Shinzō, Asō Tarō, Fukuda Yasuo, Koizumi Jun’ichirō, and Hatoyama Yukio. Of the first 20 years of the 21st century, for 18 of them, Japan has been led by prime ministers who were children of elected Diet members. And today, second-generation Diet members hold one-third of the seats in the lower house.
However, second-generation Diet members are not a recent phenomenon. Yoshida Shigeru, the first person to become prime minister after Japan formally adopted the parliamentary system in 1947 under the postwar constitution, was a second-generation Diet member. Yoshida’s biological father, Takeuchi Tsuna, an activist in the Freedom and People’s Rights movement, was a member of the lower house when the Imperial Diet first convened. We can safely say that second-generation Diet members were a feature of Japanese politics throughout the postwar period. Why do we have second-generation Diet members? How is their status secured? What effect are they having? We cannot understand Japanese politics today without dealing with these questions. Answering these questions leads us to consider the characteristics of Japan’s democratic system.
