Comparative analysis of the Japanese political party system within the context of Japanese political culture. The postwar era in Japan has called for the decentralization of power and an emphasis on distributive justice. Without a strong central ideology and control, a wide array of political parties and coalitions has created an authority vacuum permitting bureaucratic excesses and corruption. The Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, which fell from power in 1993, sought to regain its position by changing its image rather than its substantive principles.
