There is a large body of work on the "local level" of activity within the Japanese political-economy. Much of it is in Japanese. Virtually every Faculty of Economics has professors whose field of expertise is local economics and politics. In addition, a number of foreign researchers have begun to catch on to this theme. One of the most well-known works is Friedman's "The Misunderstood Miracle." Bestor's "Neighborhood Tokyo" has some nice sections on local politics and economics as well. Finally, there is Apter and Suwa'a "Against The State." This is, in many ways, a classic piece.
Ray Jussaume
Washington State Universtiy

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Moderator's Note: I would add Margaret McKean's chapter in _Political Opposition and Local Politics in Japan_(Princeton:1980), Steven Reed's _Japanese Prefectures and Policymaking_ (Pittsburgh: 1986), and Richard Samuels' _The Politics of Regional Policy in Japan: Localities Incorporated_ (Princeton: 1983). All three are SSJ-FORUM members, and I believe at least one of them could be coaxed into commenting on the differences between local politics in the 70s and now. ---------------