Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perceptions of Parties’ Ideological Locations and the Generation Gap

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Generational Gap in Japanese Politics

  • 195 Accesses

Abstract

The Japanese party system has gone through significant changes since the early 1990s, raising the question of whether parties on both sides of the main ideological divide which characterized political competition during the immediate post-war decades retain the same role today. Conventional wisdom, still dominant in media and academic circles, holds that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) occupy the conservative and progressive ends of the ideological spectrum, respectively. This widely shared assumption is tested in this chapter, by investigating the generational and life-cycle hypotheses of value change. These refer to changes one would expect due to political socialization during different periods in time, for example, before and after the end of the Cold War, as old issues become less relevant and new ones gain salience. Empirical results show a clear generational divide in perceptions of party locations along the ideological scale, with only voters in their 50s or above identify the Communists as the most progressive force in the party system.

The authors acknowledge Bokutakusha and the Japanese Association for Electoral Studies for permission to re-print this chapter, which is based on an article previously published in Senkyo Kenkyu.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alwin, Duane F., and Jon A. Krosnick. 1991. Aging, Cohorts, and the Stability of Sociopolitical Orientations over the Life Span. American Journal of Sociology 97(1): 169–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baerwald, Hans H. 1974. Japan’s Parliament: An Introduction. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, Samuel H. 1997. Electoral Behavior and Comparative Politics. In Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure. Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blais, André, Elisabeth Gidengil, and Neil Nevitte. 2004. Where does Turnout Decline Come from? European Journal of Political Research 43(2): 221–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brim, Orville G., and Jerome Kagan (eds.). 1980. Constancy and Change in Human Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, Gosta, and Katarina Karlsson. 1970. Age, Cohorts, and the Generation of Generations. American Sociological Review 35: 710–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover, Pamela Johnston, and Stanley Feldman. 1981. The Origins and Meaning of Liberal-Conservative Self-identifications. American Journal of Political Science 25: 617–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Converse, Philip E. 1964. The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics. In Ideology and Discontent, ed. David E. Apter. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Converse, Philip E. 2000. Assessing the Capacity of Mass Electorates. Annual Review of Political Science 3: 331–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, Gerald L. 1988. The Japanese Way of Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, Russell J. 1977. Was there a Revolution? A Note on Generational versus Life Cycle Explanations of Value Differences. Comparative Political Studies 9: 459–473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, Russell J. 2004. Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choices: The Erosion of Political Support in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, Erik H. 1997. The Life Cycle Completed. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Federico, Christopher M., and Monica C. Schneider. 2007. Political Expertise and the Use of Ideology: Moderating Effects of Evaluating Motivation. Public Opinion Quarterly 71: 221–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, Stanley. 1988. Structure and Consistency in Public Opinion: The Role of Core Beliefs and Values. American Journal of Political Science 32: 416–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fendrich, James Max, and Kenneth L. Lovoy. 1988. Back to the Future: Adult Political Behavior of Former Student Activists. American Sociological Review 53: 780–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, Scott C. 1982. Measuring Value Change in Advanced Industrial Societies: A Rejoinder to Inglehart. Comparative Political Studies 15: 99–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, Scott C. 1987. Value Change in Industrial Societies. American Political Science Review 81: 1303–1319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, Mark. 2004. Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, Dieter, and Hans-Dieter Klingemann. 1989. The Left-Right Schema. In Continuities in Political Action: A Longitudinal Study of Political Orientations in Three Western Democracies, ed. M. Kent Jennings, Jan W. van Deth, et al. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glenn, Norval D. 1974. Aging and Conservatism. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 415(1): 176–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamill, Ruth, Milton Lodge, and Frederick Blake. 1985. The Breadth, Depth, and Utility of Partisan, Class, and Ideological Schemas. American Journal of Political Science 29: 850–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, Marc. 2004. Political Socialization and the Future of Politics. Acta Politica 39: 331–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, Marc, and Britt Wilkenfeld. 2008. The Stability of Political Attitudes and Behaviors across Adolescence and Early Childhood: A Comparison of Survey Data on Adolescents and Young Adults in Eight Countries. Journal of Youth Adolescence 37: 155–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, Liesbet, Gary Marks, and Carole J. Wilson. 2002. Does Left/Right Structure Party Positions on European Integration? Comparative Political Studies 35(8): 965–989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hrebenar, Ronald (ed.). 1986. The Japanese Party System: From One-Party Rule to Coalition Government. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ike, Nobutaka. 1973. Economic Growth and Intergenerational Change in Japan. American Political Science Review 67: 1194–1203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, Ronald. 1982. Changing Values in Japan and the West. Comparative Political Studies 14: 445–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, Ronald. 1990. Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, Ronald. 1997. Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby, William G. 1991. Ideological Identification and Issue Attitudes. American Journal of Political Science 35(1): 178–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jagodzinski, Wolfgang. 1983. Materialism in Japan Reconsidered: Toward a Synthesis of Generational and Life-Cycle Explanations. American Political Science Review 77: 887–894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. Kent. 1976. The Variable Nature of Generational Conflict: Some Examples from West Germany. Comparative Political Studies 9(2): 171–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. Kent. 1992. Ideological Thinking among Mass Publics and Political Elites. Public Opinion Quarterly 56: 419–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. Kent, and Gregory B. Markus. 1984. Partisan Orientations over the Long Haul: Results from the Three-wave Political Socialization Panel Study. American Political Science Review 78: 1000–1018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. Kent, and Richard G. Niemi. 1981. Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kabashima, Ikuo, and Yoshihiko Takenaka. 2012. Ideorogii (Ideology). Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kato, Junko, and Yuto Kannon. 2008. Coalition Governments, Party Switching, and the Rise and Decline of Parties; Changing Japanese Party Politics since 1993. Japanese Journal of Political Science 9: 341–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kato, Junko, and Michael Laver. 1998. Party Policy and Cabinet Portfolios in Japan, 1996. Party Politics 4(2): 253–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kato, Junko, and Micharl Laver. 2003. Policy and Party Competition in Japan after the Election of 2000. Japanese Journal of Political Science 4(1): 121–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Heemin, and Richard C. Fording. 2002. Government Partisanship in Western Democracies, 1945-1998. European Journal of Political Research 41: 187–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinder, Ronald R. 1998. Opinion and Action in the Realm of Politics. In The Handbook of Social Psychology, ed. Daniel T. Gilbert, Susan T. Fiske, and Gardner Lindzey. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knutsen, Oddbjørn. 1995a. Value Orientations, Political Conflicts and Left-Right Identification: A Comparative Study. European Journal of Political Research 28(1): 63–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knutsen, Oddbjørn. 1995b. Party Choice. In The Impact of Values, ed. Jan W. van Deth and Elinor Scarbrough. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krieisi, Hanspeter. 2010. Restructuration of Partisan Politics and the Emergence of a New Cleavage Based on Values. West European Politics 33: 673–685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, Richard R., and David P. Redlawsk. 2001. Advantages and Disadvantages of Cognitive Heuristics in Political Decision-making. American Journal of Political Science 45: 951–971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, Richard L. 1984. On the Nature of Human Plasticity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lubinski, David, David B. Schmidt, and Camilla Persson Benbow. 1996. A 20-year Stability Analysis of the Study of Values for Intellectually Gifted Individuals from Adolescence to Adulthood. Journal of Applied Psychology 81: 443–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nie, Norman H., and Kristi Andersen. 1974. Mass Belief Systems Revisited: Political Change and Attitude Structure. Journal of Politics 36: 540–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niemi, Richard G., and Mary A. Hepburn. 1995. The Rebirth of Political Socialization. Perspectives on Political Science 24: 7–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proksch, Sven-Oliver, Jonathan B. Slapin, and Michael F. Thies. 2011. Party System Dynamics in Post-war Japan: A Quantitative Content Analysis of Electoral Pledges. Electoral Studies 30(1): 114–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sears, David O. 1981. Life Stage Effects on Attitude Change, Especially among the Elderly. In Aging: Social change, ed. Sara Kiesler, James N. Morgan, and Valerie K. Oppenheimer. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sears, David O. 1983. The Persistence of Early Political Predispositions: The Roles of Attitude Object and Life Stage. In Review of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 4, ed. Ladd Wheeler. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thau, Richard D., and Jay S. Heflin (eds.). 1997. Generations Apart: Xers vs. Boomers vs. the Elderly. Amherst: Prometheus Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thayer, Nathaniel B. 1969. How the Conservatives Rule Japan. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, James R. 2003. Party Identification in Britain: Does Length of Time in the Electorate Affect Strength of Partisanship? British Journal of Political Science 33: 332–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, James R. 2005. Libertarian-Authoritarian Value Change in Britain, 1974-2001. Political Studies 53: 442–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Brug, Wouter. 2010. Structural and Ideological Voting in Age Cohorts. West European Politics 33: 586–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

    Willy Jou

  2. Faculty of Humanities and Economics, Kochi University, Kochi City, Kochi, Japan

    Masahisa Endo

Authors
  1. Willy Jou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Masahisa Endo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Appendix 3.1

Appendix 3.1

Perceived party positions by year

Year

Party

Mean

S.D.

N

Year

Party

Mean

S.D.

N

1983

LDP

3.11

2.80

1503

2004

LDP

2.30

2.07

1763

DSP

1.09

2.32

1319

DPJ

0.31

1.73

1704

Komeito

0.26

2.43

1259

Komeito

1.20

2.01

1588

JSP

−2.05

2.44

1382

JSP

−1.08

2.02

1593

JCP

−3.46

2.53

1349

JCP

−2.17

2.39

1596

1995

LDP

2.35

2.17

1373

2010

DPJ

0.10

2.08

1226

NFP

0.85

2.37

1345

LDP

1.70

2.29

1221

JSP

0.04

2.13

1327

Komeito

0.77

2.33

1102

Sakigake

0.38

1.97

1312

JCP

−0.91

2.73

1077

JCP

−2.08

2.93

1304

SDP

−0.32

2.28

1072

1996

LDP

2.60

2.04

1129

YP

−0.28

1.96

951

NFP

0.91

2.25

1037

PNP

0.45

2.24

948

DPJ

0.22

1.96

932

SPJ

0.48

2.39

821

SDP

−0.31

1.89

987

NRP

0.04

2.09

581

JCP

−2.56

2.29

1035

  1. Note: Mean perceived positions standardized to a scale from −5 (most progressive) to 5 (most conservative). LDP = Liberal Democratic Party; DSP = Democratic Socialist Party; JSP = Japan Socialist Party; JCP = Japan Communist Party; NFP = New Frontier Party; DPJ = Democratic Party of Japan; SDP = Social Democratic Party (JSP renamed); YP = Your Party; PNP = People’s New Party; SPJ = Sunrise Party of Japan; NRP = New Renaissance Party

Copyright information

© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jou, W., Endo, M. (2016). Perceptions of Parties’ Ideological Locations and the Generation Gap. In: Generational Gap in Japanese Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50342-8_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation