Todai-Yale Initiative Lecture Series – Shifting Prime Ministerial Power and its Consequences on Neo-liberal Reforms in Japan

Todai-Yale Initiative Lecture Series -- Shifting Prime Ministerial Power and its Consequences on Neo-liberal Reforms in Japan

Yu Uchiyama - Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo

Monday, April 5, 2010 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm
Room 202, Henry R. Luce Hall See map
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 6511

Japanese Prime Minister Jun’ichiro Koizumi (2001-2006) succeeded in implementing many neoliberal projects such as expenditure cut, deregulation, and especially, postal services privatization, most of which had been thought to be unrealistic before Koizumi. What made it possible for Koizumi to accomplish these reforms? What made him a “strong” prime minister? This paper examines why and how Prime Minister’s leadership was reinforced, comparing the Koizumi administration with the Abe administration (2006-7) where neoliberal reforms were also high on the agenda but not so successful as under Koizumi.

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Japan