Abstract
Abe’s political brilliance won a smashing 2014 victory for an unpopular party with unpopular policies. Abe won because he succeeded in defining the alternatives — framing the election as a referendum on Abenomics, pursuing a consistent communications strategy, blurring policy differences on other issues — and timing the election brilliantly. The focus on Abenomics in the election has not prevented Abe from claiming a mandate on a broad range of policies, many of which are not popular with voters, and pursuing a bold, proactive agenda. This leads us to provide the election with its sobriquet, Japan’s “bait-and-switch” election. This is not the first time a politician earning ambiguous support at the polls has enacted a sweeping agenda (we have in mind Margaret Thatcher in 1983, but readers may think of others). Despite their apathy in the campaign, Japanese voters might find that they have re-elected a prime minister who will transform their country.
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Bibliography
Miller, W. L. (1984). There was no alternative: The British general election of 1983. Parliamentary Affairs 37: 4.
Pekkanen, Robert J. and Saadia M. Pekkanen. (2015). Japan in 2014: All about Abe. Asian Survey 55(1): 103–118.
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© 2016 Robert J. Pekkanen, Steven R. Reed, and Ethan Scheiner
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Pekkanen, R.J., Reed, S.R., Scheiner, E. (2016). Conclusion: Japan’s Bait-and-Switch Election 2014. In: Pekkanen, R.J., Reed, S.R., Scheiner, E. (eds) Japan Decides 2014. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137552006_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137552006_21
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-56437-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55200-6
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