Dear colleagues,

The editors of Japan Decides 2024: The Japanese General Election are pleased to announce that the book, the fifth in this series, has now been published by Palgrave Macmillan. It is available immediately online as an e-book and will soon be released in softcover.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-98797-7

This volume brings together contributions from 25 authors based in Japan, North America, and Europe. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the 2024 House of Representatives election, including the strategies of political parties, the dynamics of the campaign, the issues shaping the election, and the main drivers of the LDP's major defeat. We believe it is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses and hope it will serve as a useful resource for your teaching and research.

The Table of Contents is provided below for your convenience.

Sincerely,

Kenneth M. McElwain, Robert J. Pekkanen, and Daniel M. Smith

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JAPAN DECIDES 2024: THE JAPANESE GENERAL ELECTION
1. Introduction: LDP Dominance on the Edge (Kenneth M. McElwain, Robert J. Pekkanen, and Daniel M. Smith)
2. The 2024 Election Results: A Political Earthquake (Ko Maeda)
3. Reasons Behind the LDP's Loss in the 2024 Election (Kuniaki Nemoto)
4. The CDP in 2024: The Legacy of the Electoral Coalition with the JCP (Fumi Ikeda)
5. A Costly Coalition: Kōmeitō's Enduring Partnership with the LDP (Axel Klein and Levi McLaughlin)
6. Why Did Public Support for the Japan Innovation Party Decline in the 2024 HR Election? (Masahiro Zenkyo)
7. Electoral Campaigns in Japan's 2024 HR Election: Emerging Signs of Transformation (Michio Umeda)
8. Policy Positions of the Candidates (Masaki Taniguchi, Taka-aki Asano, Shōko Ōmori, and Shūsuke Takamiya)
9. How Party Manifestos Framed Political Distrust in the 2024 Election (Tomoko Matsumoto)
10. Public Opinion and Scandals in Economic Hard Times (Yukio Maeda)
11. Social Media in the 2024 General Election (Robert A. Fahey)
12. Partisanship and Turnout in the 2024 General Election (Tetsuya Matsubayashi)
13. Scandals During the Kishida Administration (Matthew M. Carlson)
14. Perennial Fears, Novel Responses: The Unification Church in Japan after the Abe Assassination (Levi McLaughlin)
15. Increase in Women's Representation and Candidates' Positions on Gender Equality Issues (Yuki Tsuji)
16. LGBTQ+ Rights Issues and the 2024 Japanese Election (Kazuyoshi Kawasaka)
17. Childcare Policy in the 2024 Election: Who Resonated with the Public Amid an Unprecedented Birthrate Decline? (Reiko Arami)
18. Election Under Inflation: LDP's Choice of Macroeconomic Policy (Kenya Amano and Saori N. Katada)
19. Japan Decides Its Role in the Global Economy: Trade and Economic Security in the 2024 Election (Kristin Vekasi)
20. Conclusion: The LDP Loses Trust and the Illusion of Invincibility (Kenneth M. McElwain, Robert J. Pekkanen, and Daniel M. Smith)