How Junichiro Koizumi seized the leadership of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party

In this paper, we examine some of the ways in which Koizumi Junichiro took advantage of changes in television news to win the 2001 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election and become prime minister of Japan. Koizumi adopted a strategy of political populism to increase his exposure in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Japanese journal of political science 2007-04, Vol.8 (1), p.95-114
Main Authors: KABASHIMA, IKUO, STEEL, GILL
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic reform
Elections
Institutionalization
Koizumi, Junichiro
Media coverage
Political campaigns
Political leadership
Political parties
Political science
Politicians
Popularity
Populism
Presidential elections
Presidents
Prime ministers
Reporters
Television news
Television stations
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Summary:In this paper, we examine some of the ways in which Koizumi Junichiro took advantage of changes in television news to win the 2001 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election and become prime minister of Japan. Koizumi adopted a strategy of political populism to increase his exposure in the media and develop a public reputation. Changes in the LDP selection procedure, in combination with long-term social and economic change and political reform, meant that the media mattered more to his campaign than had previously been the case. We use data from the Japan Election Study II (JES II) to show that the effects of Koizumi' media-driven popularity and style of politics reversed the LDP' electoral fortunes in the Upper House Election in 2001.
ISSN:1468-1099
1474-0060
DOI:10.1017/S1468109907002496