Analyzing the Democratic Dificit of Election Campaigns.

I examine the effectiveness of political communication among citizens, media, and parties during election campaigns..x000d.Election campaigns play important roles in democracy. Despite that, Japanese election campaigns are short and restricted. It is said that effects of Japanese election campaigns are limited, but, there are little research that disputes the truth of such declarations. My paper tests whether Japanese campaigns work for voters or not, and, I reveal who is affected. Especially, on the views of political information and changing people’s cognition, I check the democratic dificit during election campaigns. My hypothesis is that restricted conditions, such as Japan, produce gaps and inequalities during election campaigns. In less regulated systems, information reaches most citizens, but regulated systems function only for more motivated people. This structure leads to information gaps and inequalities, political distrust and less political efficacy for example, in democratic countries..x000d.I use data from the 2003 Japanese National House of Representatives Election(JES?: Japanese Election Study ?) and analyze information processing. This research will show the significance and shortcomings of Japanese election campaigns. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]