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AbstractIn 2019, Japan’s Ministry of Environment (MoE), led by Koizumi Shinjirō, embarked on a quest to end the country’s ‘coal addiction’ against the coal industry’s interests, as represented by the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Against all expectations, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō sided with MoE and implemented restrictions. It initiated the end of Japan’s government support for ‘unabated’ coal-fired power plant exports despite their continued high demand from overseas. This article uses the Advocacy Coalition Framework to explain the importance of the MoE and Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjirō in shifting Abe’s posture towards the global energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture has implemented various measures to ensure a stable food supply, considering food security a top priority due to the increasing uncertainty of the global economy. However, the ministry's food security policy has evolved substantially with a disproportionate focus on the domestic production of specific food products. This policy change occurred without being widely recognized by the public, media, or intellectuals. Why has the Agricultural Ministry's policy changed even though its goal has remained the same? By applying both qualitative and quantitative research methods, we investigated the context behind this obscure policy transition. Our findings reveal that, contrary to conventional understanding, this policy shift occurred not so much due to political pressure from the agricultural sector, but mainly because of a change in the definition of a key policy concept (i.e., the food self‐sufficiency rate) in the late 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions, Incentives, and Electoral Participation in Japan: Cross-Level and Cross-National Perspectives. By Yusaku Horiuchi. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2004. 168 pp. $125.00. Cloth. It is widely believed by many political scientists [...]