Constitutional / Institutional Design
My primary research focus is the influence of partisan politics on institutional design and change. I define political institutions broadly and have written on constitutional design, electoral system manipulation, and the internal organization of political parties.
**2022.『日本国憲法の普遍と特異：その軌跡と定量的考察』千倉書房
--- The Universality and Originality of the Japanese Constitution in Quantitative Perspective, Chikura Shobō
--- Amazon; Honto; Chikuba Shobō
2023. “Public Preference for International Law Compliance: Respecting Legal Obligations or Conforming to Common Practices?” Review of International Organizations (with S. Kuzushima and Y. Shiraito)
2023. “Constitutional Revision in the 2021 Election”, in R. J. Pekkanen, S. R. Reed, and D. Smith, eds. Japan Decides 2021. Palgrave Macmillan, 319-331.
2022. "Explaining Public Support for Gender Quotas: Sexism, Representational Quality, and State Intervention in Japan", Politics & Gender (with M. Miura and T. Kaneko)
2022. "The Clash of Traditional Values: Opposition to Female Monarchs”, European Political Science Review, 1-20 (with G. Liu and Y. Shiraito)
2022.「憲法改正―なぜ実現できなかったのか」アジア・パシフィック・イニシアティブ編『検証 安倍政権―保守とリアリズムの政治』文藝春秋
--- Amazon; Bungei Shunju
2022. “Constitutional Revision in the 2021 Election” in R. J. Pekkanen, S. R. Reed, and D. Smith, eds. Japan Decides 2021. Palgrave Macmillan, 319-331
2021. “The Proposer or the Proposal? An Experimental Analysis of Constitutional Beliefs”, Japanese Journal of Political Science 22(1) (with S. Eshima and C. G. Winkler)
2021. “The Japanese Constitution” in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics, edited by R. J. Pekkanen and S. M. Pekkanen. Oxford University Press
2020. “When Candidates Are More Polarised than Voters: Constitutional Revision in Japan”, European Political Science 19: pp. 528-539.
2020. “The Perils and Virtues of Constitutional Flexibility: Japan’s Constitution and the Liberal International Order”, in Y. Funabashi and J. Ikenberry, eds. The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism: Japan and the World Order. Brookings Institution Press
2019「危機に対応できる憲法とは―安定性と適応性の間で」『危機対応学の社会科学（上）―想定外を超えて』 編：玄田有史・飯田高. 東京大学出版会
2018. “Constitutional Revision in the 2017 Election”, In R. J. Pekkanen, S. R. Reed, E. Scheiner, and D. Smith, eds. Japan Decides 2017. Palgrave Macmillan
2017. 「日本国憲法の特異な構造が改憲を必要としてこなかった」 『中央公論』 中央公論新社2017年5月号
--- “Why the Constitution of Japan has Not Required Amendments”, Chuō Kōron May 2017
2017. 「世界中の憲法との比較で見えた日本国憲法の特徴と普遍的価値」 『Journalism』 朝日新聞社2017年5月号
--- “Fundamental Attributes of the Constitution of Japan in Comparative Perspective”, Journalism May 2017
2015. “What’s Unique About the Japanese Constitution? A Comparative and Historical Analysis”, Journal of Japanese Studies 41.2 (with Christian Winkler)
2014. “Constitutional Evolution: When are Constitutions Amended Versus Replaced?” Presented at the 2014 MPSA Meeting (with J. Clipperton)
2008. “Manipulating Electoral Rules to Manufacture Single-Party Dominance”, American Journal of Political Science 52.1
Party Realignment and Public Opinion
Electoral reform has a profound impact on the competitiveness and ideological range of political parties. In addition to research on the evolution of party systems, I have worked on the effects of institutional and socioeconomic change on voter partisanship, particularly in the context of Japanese politics.
2023. “Narrative Premiums in Policy Persuasion” Political Psychology (with K. Kawata and M. Nakabayashi)
2023. “Japan: Manipulating (On) the Margins” in N. Tan and K. Templeman, eds. Electoral Malpractice in Asia: Bending the Rules. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 27-42 (with T. Yoshikawa)
2021.『日本の民主主義の再評価：第1回パネル討論「日本の民主主義の現状」報告書』日本国際交流文化センター（with 竹中治堅, 高安健将, 谷口尚子）
2015.「株価か格差か：内閣支持率の客観的・主観的経済要因」レヴァイアサン57号
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"Inequality or Growth? Subjective Economic Beliefs and Government Approval in Japan", Leviathan 57 (Oct 2015)
2015. "Did Abe's Coattails Help the LDP Win?" In R. Pekkanen, S. R. Reed & E. Scheiner (eds.), Japan Decides 2014: The Japanese General Election. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
2015. "Who Tolerates Tax Increases? Age and Gender in the Raising of Japanese Consumption Taxes." Journal of Social Science. 67: 75-96 (with G. W. Noble)
2014. "Japan's Abandoned Partisans: Realignment After Electoral Reform." Earlier version presented at the 2012 APSA Meeting (with M. Umeda)
2014. “Party System Institutionalization in Japan”, in A. Hicken and E. M. Kuhonta, eds. Party System Institutionalization in Asia: Democracies, Autocracies, and Shadows of the Past, Cambridge University Press (pp. 74-107)
2014. “Parties and Elections in Japan”, in ed. J. Babb, Handbook of Japanese Studies, SAGE Publications
2012. “The Nationalization of Japanese Elections”, Journal of East Asian Studies 12 (3):323-50.
2012. “党首選改革と政党支持率”, 樋渡展洋／斉藤淳 ［編］, 政党政治の混迷と政権交代, 東京大学出版会, 193-218
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"Party Reform and Popularity", in eds. N. Hiwatari and J. Saito, Party Politics in Disarray and Government Turnover, University of Tokyo Press (with M. Umeda)
2011. “Party Democratization and the Salience of Party Leaders”, Journal of Social Science 62.1 (with M. Umeda)
2009. Political Change in Japan: Electoral Behavior, Party Realignment, and the Koizumi Reforms, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University Press (co-edited with S. R. Reed and K. Shimizu)
2007. “Parties and Voters in Industrial Democracies”, in C. Boix and S. Stokes, eds., Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK (with A. Wren)
Covid-19 and Japan
Covid-19 has changed how governments and citizens relate to one another. In a series of projects supported by the ISS Methodology of Social Sciences Project, our team has used panel surveys to examine the determinants of social distancing, the nature of infodemics, and the utility of contact-tracing apps.
2022 “Mobile health technology as a solution to self-control problems: The behavioral impact of COVID-19 contact tracing apps in Japan”, Social Science and Medicine, Vol 306 (Aug) 115142 (with S. Cato, T. Iida, K. Ishida, A. Ito, H. Katsumata, M. Shoji)
2022 “Vaccination and altruism under the COVID-19 pandemic”, Public Health in Practice, Vol 3 (June) (with S. Cato, T. Iida, K. Ishida, A. Ito, H. Katsumata, M. Shoji)
2022「新型コロナウイルス感染症に関する壮年パネル調査－概要と記述統計分析－」『社会科学研究』第73巻第2号. pp. 95–125. (with 飯田高，石田賢示，伊藤亜聖，勝又裕斗，加藤晋，庄司匡宏)
2021 “Prosociality and the Uptake of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps: Survey Analysis of Intergenerational Differences in Japan” JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Vol 9(8) (with S. Cato, T. Iida, K. Ishida, A. Ito, H. Katsumata, M. Shoji)
2021 “Social media infodemics and social distancing under the COVID-19 pandemic: Public good provisions under uncertainty”, Global Health Action 14:1 (with S. Cato, T. Iida, K. Ishida, A. Ito, H. Katsumata, M. Shoji)
2021 “The bright and dark sides of social media usage during the COVID-19 pandemic: Survey evidence from Japan”, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 54:102034 (with S. Cato, T. Iida, K. Ishida, A. Ito, H. Katsumata, and M. Shoji)
2020 “Social distancing as a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic”, Public Health 188:51-53 (with Susumu Cato, Takashi Iida, Kenji Ishida, Asei Ito, and Masahiro Shoji)