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Changing Media, Changing Politics in Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2007

MASAKI TANIGUCHI
Affiliation:
University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japanmasaki@j.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that recent changes in the mass media, especially TV programs, change democratic practice. I argue that this theory is applicable not only to the US, but also to Japan after the 1990s. This paper is organized as follows: the first section confirms that the increase in TV news after the 1980s is driven by an increase in ‘soft’ or ‘infotaining’ political news. The second section describes the changes in political practice – elections, policy processes, and party organization brought about by this change in the mass media, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

The author is grateful to the 21st century COE program, Invention of Policy System in Advanced Countries, and Suntory Foundation for their financial support of my research. I would also like to thank Samuel Popkin, Ikuo Kabashima, Hideo Otake, Susumu Takahashi, Takashi Yoshino, Hiroshi Hoshi, Gill Steel, Iwao Osaka, and the participants of the seminar, Mass Media and Politics, at University of Tokyo for their support.