Kabashima and Steel set out to demolish the still prevalent myth that Japanese politics are a stagnant set of entrenched systems and interests that are fundamentally undemocratic. In its place, they reveal a lively and dynamic democracy, in which politicians and parties are increasingly listening to and responding to citizens' needs and interests and the media and other actors play a substantial role in keeping democratic accountability alive and healthy. Kabashima and Steel describe how all the political parties in Japan have adapted the ways in which they attempt to organize and channel votes and argue that contrary to many journalistic stereotypes the government is increasingly acting in the "the interests of citizens"—the median voter's preferences.
Ikuo Kabashima is Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, and Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture. His many books include Elites and the Idea of Equality. Gill Steel is Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Tokyo. She is coeditor of Reform in Japan: Assessing the Impact.