Daniel M. Smith Publishes New Edited Volume on Japan's Dramatic 2021 Elections

December 06, 2022

WEAI's Professor Daniel M. Smith has published a new edited volume Japan Decides 2021: The Japanese General Election (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), coedited with Robert J. Pekkanen and Steven R. Reed. 

Recent elections in Japan have been dramatic, and the 2021 general election was no exception. Worldwide turmoil caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as domestic uncertainty following the resignation of long-serving Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, left many voters and political observers wondering whether his successors were up to the task of leading the country through the crisis. This fourth volume in the Japan Decides series features a comprehensive collection of analyses from leading experts, covering the legacy of Abe’s tenure in office, the state of the LDP and other parties, the impact of COVID-19 and the postponed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and many other important topics in contemporary party politics and domestic and foreign policy.

The book is available here.