Dear Colleagues,

I apologize for the ugly self-promotion, but Palgrave has just published a volume on the 2012 Japanese Lower House election, edited by Robert Pekkanen, Steve Reed, and me. We have a terrific group of contributors (see
below) writing on an array of interesting and important topics. Robert, Steve, and I intend to edit one of these volumes immediately after each Lower House Japanese election to come.

Japan Decides 2012: The Japanese General Election

Introduction
1. Introduction (by Pekkanen, Reed, & Scheiner)

2. Japanese Politics Between the 2009 and 2012 Elections (by Pekkanen and Reed)

3. Keeping It Together: Party Unity and the 2012 Election; Ben Nyblade

4. The Japanese General Election of 2012: The LDP Wins Big by Default (by Reed, Scheiner, Daniel Smith, and Michael Thies)

PART I: POLITICAL PARTIES
5. The LDP's Path Back to Power: The Liberal Democratic Party; Masahisa Endo, Pekkanen, & Reed

6. The Remains of the DPJ: The Democratic Party of Japan; Robert Weiner

7. Challenging the Two-Party System: Third Force Parties in the 2012 Election (by Reed)

8. Komeito - In Search of Independence; Axel Klein

PART II: CAMPAIGNING, CANDIDATES, AND DISTRICTS 9. Candidate Recruitment for the 2012 Election: New Parties, New Methods... Same Old Faces?; Dan Smith

10. New Inter-Election Campaign Tools; Kuniaki Nemoto

11. Malapportionment and the 2012 Election; Ray Christensen

12. What the 2012 Lower House Elections Has to Say about Japan's Urban-Rural Divide; Kay Shimizu

13. Campaign Finance Irregularities, Sex Scandals and the Election; Matt Carlson

14. Women Candidates and Political Parties in Election 2012; Sherry Martin Murphy

PART III: GOVERNANCE AND POLICY
15. Foreign Policy as an Election Issue; Paul Midford

16. Election Surprise: Abenomics and Central Bank Independence Trump Nationalism and Fukushima; Yves Tiberghien

17. Right Rising? Ideology and the 2012 House of Representatives Election; Chris Winkler

18. Farmers, Agricultural Policies and the Election; Aurelia George Mulgan

19. Governance with a Twist: How Bicameralism affects Japanese Lawmaking; Michael Thies and Yuki Yanai

All the best,
Ethan