| Abstract: | The political reforms of 1994 — a new electoral system, the introduction of public subsidies for political parties, and more restrictive regulations governing political funds — have drastically changed the formal framework for political parties’ activities in Japan. This article analyses the impact of the political reforms on important informal structures in Japan’s political parties. It is shown that intra-party factions within the long-time governing LDP and the personal support organisations of individual members of parliament have undergone some changes but continue to persist in spite of the reforms. The article closes by summing up the lessons which the Japanese case offers for the transformation of informal institutions qua changes in the formal environment. |
