Contemporary Politics in Japan

This study by one of Japan's foremost political scientists examines the unfolding relationship between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the state, and the forces of industrialization in Japan from the 1950s through the 1980s. It is the only book in English to describe and analyze in detail Japan's political development during this critical period.

Masumi argues that Japan's rapid economic growth was promoted by an "iron triangle" among three actors—the LDP, the bureaucracy, and big busin...