(Non-)Existence of Populism in Modern Japan

The word 'populism' has lately been frequently appearing in political discourse all over the world. The word is most often associated with certain persons, such as Donald Trump, Marine LePen, or Andrej Babiš. The reason for this shift in discourse is the fact that many Western countries have been plagued by a wave of (right-wing) populism, for which traditional parties have not found a solution yet. One of the few countries with western-style democracy which has so far been able to avoid this wave is Japan. The goal of this thesis is to find out why that is, and whether there might be any mechanisms within the Japanese political system which prevent the populist phenomenon. The thesis analyzes typical characteristics of populism based on literature about the theory of populism. The thesis then creates a model based on this analysis, and compares it with the current situation in Japan. The model comprises of fifteen criteria which are split into four categories, preconditions for the creation of a populist party, its creation and development process and characteristics, the rhetorical strategies of its leaders/members, and its further development. By applying this model onto the current situation in Japan, the following facts have been uncovered. Japan has been governed by the Liberal Democratic..