E. Kawabata 
Contemporary Government Reform in Japan 
The Dual State in Flux

This book examines several major reforms in Japan – in the postal business, transportation, telecommunications and technology – and evaluates the impact of these changes since the early 1980s. Conceptually, the book presents the dual state as being a fundamental feature of the Japanese political economy that determines government reform dynamics.

Table of Content

Introduction: Japan’s Struggling Government Reform PART I: THE POLITICS OF GOVERNMENT REFORM Government Reform in Comparative and Historical Perspective The Politics of the Dual State The Dual State and Government Reform PART II: THE POLITICS OF DISTRIBUTIVE NETWORKS Postal Business: Old Guard Politics Die Hard Transportation: Highways, Railways, and Airways PART III: THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENTAL NETWORKS Telecommunications Regulatory Reform: Bureaucracy-led Liberalization? Communications Technology Promotion: Vanguard Policy by Old-Guard Ministry

About the author

EIJI KAWABATA is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Minnesota State University, USA.