日本政治中的“世袭”现象及潜规则

日本在明治维新后废除了身份制度，贵族制度也随之消失。但封建时代的许多旧俗仍然不可避免地残存下来，并在现代日本的政治生活中发挥着不可小视的影响。其中，“世袭议员”现象就是最为典型的政治文化遗产，折射出日本政治中某些传统的潜规则。日本政坛长期以来存在的“家族世袭”现象，在某种意义上对过去几十年日本的经济发展和政治稳定都起到了积极作用。但同时，“世袭”现象也使日本政坛的关系过于复杂化，权钱交易丑闻时有发生，增加了政治和经济改革的难度。日本大选使得民主党和自民党在这一问题上展开了激烈的斗争。“世袭议员”制度的政治传统面临着改革的压力，然而日本民族文化深远的影响力同样不容忽视。关注2009年日本大选背景下日本有关“世袭议员”现象的争论，从制度成因变化的角度分析日本政治的传统与变革之争，并尝试对“世袭议员”现象的前景做一展望。

Heredity and Underlying Rules in Japan's Politics

While the aristocratic identity and system in Japan was abolished during the Meiji Reform, some other old conventions have remained ever since and even play an influential role in Japan＇s modern political life. The heredity in transition of parliamentary members is one of the typical political heritages, which reveals some traditional underlying rules in Japan＇s politics. Familial heredity has been acting as some kind of stabilizer in the development of Japan＇s politics and economy for the past decades. At the same time, it does complicate Japan＇s political interconnection and breed money-and-power scandals, which afflict political and economic renovation. This is a hot issue in the debate in the general election between the Democratic Party of Japan （DPJ） and the Liberal Democratic Party （LDP）. Reform in the hereditary politics pending, the innate national and cultural influence can＇t be neglected. This article focuses on the controversy over ＂hereditary parliamentary members＂ from the systematic and institutional perspective to analyze contradictions between traditional and revolutionary sides, with an eye on the future of the system.