...Harukata Takenaka This paper shows how a series of institutional reforms since 1994 have transformed the Japanese prime minister’s relationship with other actors in the Japanese parliamentary system and expanded his power. It further discloses that his power has grown even more since the formation...

...Tomohito Shinoda With the establishment of the DPJ government, Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio introduced a series of institutional changes in order to transform the existing bureaucracy-controlled government and to establish political leadership. These changes, however, created instability...

...Ray Anere The current power struggle has taken on historical proportions, interrupting the four-year-old Somare government in Papua New Guinea one year short of its full five-year term. In August 2011, Speaker of Parliament Jeffrey Nape declared the Office of Prime Minister vacant, resulting...

...Ko Mishima Prime Minister Koizumi succeeded in strengthening the prime minister's role in the LDP's policymaking, although he largely failed to undercut traditional bureaucratic strength. His success resulted not only from personal factors but also the structural changes occurring in LDP politics...

...Margarita Estévez-Abe This article argues that the political drama surrounding Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro is a direct result of the political reforms implemented in Japan during the last decade. The new rules of the game have produced a structural force pushing Japan to resemble a Westminster...