Corruption and Democracy of Japan
Prof. Kaoru Iokibe
Feb 7, 2025, 11:00 - 13:00
This talk examines the interplay between democracy and corruption in Japanese politics. The politicians at the beginning of the modern era in Japan were often characterized by a humble lifestyle. Many discontented samurai and militants associated with the Freedom and People's Rights Movement lived in poverty, which often led to either desperate rebellions or the phenomenon of Idobei Seijika ("Wall and Well Statesmen", i.e. statesmen who own nothing but a wall and a well at home).
This background later gave rise to a desire for wealth and power among established parties, while provoking harsh jealousy and criticism from emerging parties. Through these tensions, how did Japan manage to establish a relatively clean democracy? This talk seeks to explore and answer that question.
Prof. Kaoru Iokibe
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Kaoru Iokibe is a professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, University of Tokyo. His research interests include the history of Japanese politics and diplomacy, treaty revision, party politics, politics and the media, and the history of historiography.
Brief Biography
1996 Graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo
1996 Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo
1999 Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo
2001 Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Tokyo Metropolitan University
2005 Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Tokyo Metropolitan University (concurrently)
2007 Associate Professor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo
2011 Obtained Ph.D. degree in Law (University of Tokyo)
2014 Professor, Graduate School of Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo
