| List of Figures | |
| List of Tables | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| 1 | Introduction | 3 |
| 2 | Questioning Conventional Approaches | 15 |
| 3 | The Politics of Electoral Reform, 1945-1947 | 30 |
| 4 | Coalition Building under the Pre-1955 Multiparty System | 49 |
| 5 | The Creation of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955 | 68 |
| 6 | The Evolution of the LDP's Intraparty Politics | 91 |
| 7 | Post-1955 Changes in the Japanese Party System | 116 |
| 8 | The Political Change in 1993 | 135 |
| 9 | Conclusion | 156 |
| Bibliography | 159 |
| Subject Index | 167 |
| Author Index | 171 |