POL 357 (also EAS 329)
Politics of Japan
David Leheny
MW, 10:00-10:50 am
This course serves as an introduction to Japanese politics. It will, address in some detail Japan's political institutions as well as the historical moments and choices that have shaped them. It will examine the incentives and interests that continue to hamper the reforms that virtually all observers believe that the government needs. In addition, it will go beyond the core institutions of governance to consider broader issues: the relationship between the government and the governed, and the distinctive shape of the ties between state and society in contemporary Japan.