The emergence of comparative politics in Japan

Abstract

This article describes the emergence of comparative politics in Japan in the new millennium. Applying Lipset's American exceptionalism as a negation of comparative politics to the oft-used Japanese uniqueness and particularism, I characterized a newly-born comparative politics Japanese style as: 1) metamorphosis of standard comparative politics; 2) dramatic rise of cross-national survey research; and 3) bringing area specialists and comparativists together. Some pronounced conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues that remain to be tackled are discussed. In conclusion, the non-exceptionalist comparative politics based on conceptual clarity, methodological sophistication, and narrative persuasiveness is the line along which Japanese comparative politics should be evolving.

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