| The prime minister has been almost completely ignored in writings about decision-making in Japan, and there has been virtually nothing that seems to have been written in any systematic way about the postwar prime ministership. The conventional wisdom--to the extent there is one--has been that the prime minister is a relatively passive and unimportant actor in the policy process. But, as is argued here, he is not simply a figurehead; he can and does perform an important role. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze in what ways and under what circumstances the prime minister is likely to make a major impact on public policy.;It argues that the political environment, reinforced by the selection process, shapes the prime minister's role so that it is primarily reactive. That is, his main impact is after an issue is on the agenda and already fairly well-defined. Because of the LDP's long continuous rule and "catch-all nature," the prime minister does not have much impact on the agenda; it is largely set for him. Because of strong subgovernments, his influence over the development of proposals is limited.;His main impact is in the enactment process. He has the main say in what is to be pushed and how hard. And without his active support, controversial bills that require keeping the LDP in line as well as dealing with the opposition parties have no chance of passage. While the enactment process is highly inertial, given both the relative lack of party discipline in the LDP and the leverage of the opposition parties over the legislative process, it is the inertia that also makes the prime minister's role so important. His main role in policy change is providing the energy needed to take a well-defined issue that is already on the agenda and push it towards resolution. |
