The government of Japan / Ardath W. Burks.

First published in the U.S.A. 1961; 2nd edition 1964.

First published in Great Britain 1966.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 268 - 271) and index.

Introduction -- Note to the Second Edition -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- 1 -- Background I: The Japanese Rediscover Their Past -- Origins -- Techniques and Myths -- The Modernization of Japan -- The Religions of Japan -- 2 -- Background II: Japan in the Twentieth Century -- The Meiji and the MacArthur Constitutions -- Constitutional Continuity -- The Emperor and the People -- Militarism vs. Antimilitarism -- The Geography and Economics of Sovereignty -- 3 -- The Land, People, Economy and Society -- Geography -- Climate -- Resources -- Population: Ethnology, Age, Trends -- The Economy: Developed Japan -- The Economy: Underdeveloped Japan -- Society, Way of Life -- Culture, Education -- Science, Technology and Government -- 4 -- The Political Public -- Popular Culture of Japan -- Mass Media, Public Opinion -- Interest and Pressure Groups -- The Political Parties -- Japanese Elections -- 5 -- The New Japanese Executive -- The Emperor and the Executive -- The Cabinet Tradition -- The Prime Minister and His Office -- The Cabinet System -- Cabinet Powers and Responsibility -- Trends in Postwar Cabinets -- 6 -- The National Diet -- The Diet Tradition -- Recruitment and Selection of Dietmen -- Sociological Basis -- Diet Organization -- The House of Councillors -- Functions and the Legislative Process -- Profile of the Post-independence Diet -- 7 -- Public Administration and the Public Service -- Administrative Reorganization -- Departments and Agencies -- Powers and Functions -- The Public Service -- 8 -- Law and Order -- Law in Japanese Society -- The Lawyer in Modern Japan -- Organization of The Courts -- Japanese Judges -- The Judiciary: Powers and Functions -- Problems of Application and Law Enforcement -- 9 -- The State, the Political Economy and the General Welfare -- Economic Plans -- Machinery for Planning, -- Government and Business -- Government and Labor -- Government and Agriculture -- Government and Social Welfare -- Civil Liberties and Rights -- 10 -- Local Government in Japan -- The Structure of Local Government -- Functions and Powers of Local Government -- Japanese Intergovernmental Relations -- The Rice Roots of Local Government -- 11 -- The Foreign Relations of Japan -- Patterns of Contact -- Post-treaty Posture -- Diplomacy without Force -- Military Capabilities -- Recent Foreign Policy -- 12 -- The Japanese Political System: An Overview -- Modernization Theory and Japan -- Relevance to a General Theory of Politics -- Factors of Stability and Order -- Factors of Instability and Change -- The Future -- Selected Bibliography.

This book takes a clear look at the course of the economic and political developments in Japan since the Second World War and in particular trends in government and politics since the peace treaty of 1952. It examines the disagreements within the country over re-armament and security; over neutralism versus commitment in the Cold War; over conflicting loyalties to an Asian or a European way of life; and over meeting the rising economic and social expectations of the new middle class.

Reprint. Originally published: New York : Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1961.