Just a short note to applaud Prof. Lembruch's call for comparative work that looks at Japan and some place other than the United States. Japan has a parliamentary democracy, and until recently, one with single-party governments only. If we were to spend more time comparing Japanese politics with British (majoritarian parliamentary) and continental European (coalition parliamentary) politics, the extent to which Japan is considered unique will shrink rapidly. We'll be able to separate what it is about Japanese politics that IS interesting in comparative perspective from what is just another way of saying "Japan has a parliamentary system."

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Michael F.
Thies Department of Political Science
(ph) 310-825-1976 UCLA -- Box 951472
(fax) 310-825-0778 405 Hilgard Avenue
thies[atx]nicco.sscnet.ucla.edu Los Angeles, CA 90095-1472
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