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Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, electing its third prime minister in a year and unable to sell its policy platform to voters, looks likely to lose power to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. For over one year, Japan’s policymaking process has been paralyzed by partisan bickering and political attrition. Consequently, the turmoil has affected U.S. involvement in the region, with Washington finding it difficult to work with its closest partner in the Asia Pacific on critical issues such as military base realignment and efforts to deter a menacing North Korea. What implications exist for the alliance in the face of Japanese political disarray? Will Japanese democracy return to order, or will political chaos persist?

At this AEI event, Mark Manyin, an analyst of Asian affairs at the Congressional Research Service; University of Tokyo associate professor of Japanese politics Masaki Taniguchi; and former Japanese Diet member Hideki Wakabayashi will assess the current state of Japan’s political environment, examine potential political developments, and discuss means by which to bolster the U.S.-Japanese alliance. AEI resident scholar Michael Auslin will moderate.