일본 참의원선거의 변화

Abstract

Japanese Upper House was established with the expectations that It would check the House of Representatives and deal with various political claims. But after the Political Framework set up in 1955 came into existence, the competition between conservative and progressive parties became fierce. Due to its influence, the Upper House was increasingly embroiled in the competitiveness of the rival parties. Since the 1980s, the influence of political parties for the members of the Upper House greatly increased. An interim assessment of the Cabinet achievements by the elections also increased. These were the backdrop for the coalition government since the 1990s. And Japanese voters valued political parties rather than candidates. Because of these consequences, political significance and importance of the Upper House elections have changed dramatically. At the same time, the demand for reform of the Upper House has been raised strongly. But such reforms failed to put into practice due to the influence of deep-rooted Japanese factional politics and hereditary politics.