Abstract
The LDP strolled to victory in the 2014 House of Representatives snap election, buoyed by support for its “Abenomics” policy agenda (Maeda, this volume) and the opposition parties’ difficulties in mustering competitive candidates (Pekkanen, Reed, and Smith, this volume). As Kingston (this volume) argues, the LDP’s campaign centered on its credentials as economic managers, even as contentious issues such as the resumption of nuclear reactors (Hughes, this volume) and constitutional reform loomed over the postelection calendar. The divisiveness of these topics presents a challenge for moderate LDP legislators, and hence for the party overall. On the one hand, a larger majority in the House of Representatives (HR) would fortify the party’s control over the Diet. On the other hand, many new pickups would be moderate legislators representing urban swing districts, who are less enamored of the leadership’s conservative agenda.
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McElwain, K.M. (2016). Did Abe’s Coattails Help the LDP Win?. In: Pekkanen, R.J., Reed, S.R., Scheiner, E. (eds) Japan Decides 2014. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137552006_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137552006_9
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