Japanese Liberal Democratic Party Support and the Gender Gap: A New Approach

Abstract

Scholars have argued that there is a broad gender gap in support for the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan. We uncover strong evidence that age, rather than gender, along with rural or urban location, serves as the most critical determinant of party support. Through logistic regression, propensity score matching and simulation techniques applied to four large-scale datasets; we demonstrate that age effects are consistent but slowly diminishing across cohorts between the mid-1970s and the early 2000s. As Japanese women and men age, they come to support the LDP at similar rates controlling for education, income and other demographic factors. We argue that this age gap is a result of socialization and redistribution and not educational levels or socio-economic status, as is often suggested.

Social Network Model of Political Participation in Japan*

“…For example, politically active women experience great difficulty in finding a husband. Other studies (Aldrich and Kage, 2011; Gelb and Palley, 1991, 1994; Imamura, 1987; Eto, 2005; Nakano, 2013) with rare exceptions (for an exception, see Steel, 2004) mirror a parallel pattern in the women's status in Japan.…”

“…However, the strength of party identification in no way taps into involvement in candidate networks. A number of observers of Japanese politics have made the point that political parties are not very salient to segments of the Japanese population, who instead appear to relate to politics via personalistic ties to particular local influential individuals and politicians (Richardson, 1974; Flanagan and MacDonald, 1979; Flanagan et al ., 1991; Thies, 2002; Scheiner, 2005; Noble, 2010; Aldrich and Kage, 2011). Therefore, at least in the Japanese context and probably elsewhere as well, it makes more sense to regard the strength of party identification as an indicator of intensity of psychological involvement in politics rather than as an indicator of an involvement in a politically mobilizing organization.…”

Immigrant influx and generational politics: A comparative case study of Hong Kong and Taiwan

“…In particular, older generations predominantly vote for programs that improve the benefits that they can receive and disapprove those that help younger families. In another study, Aldrich and Kage (2011) show that age and location are the most important predictors of party support in Japan; older generations are more likely to support the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party. There are two reasons for this generational gap.…”

Political Cleavages and the Representation of Social Inequalities in Japan, 1953–2017

“…First, age gaps in Japan have never been only about values: they also have had an economic component, as the Japanese welfare state became one of the most elderly-friendly in the developed world. Since the 1980s, pension reforms have eroded redistribution mechanisms from the younger cohorts to the elderly, which might partially explain why new generations are now less biased against the LDP (Aldrich & Kage 2011). Secondly, there is evidence that younger generations have had very different visions of political parties and issue orientations than their elders since the 1990s.…”