The Economist has reported that “public awareness of voting disparities in Japan is rising as rural areas empty, putting pressure on the judiciary to act. Politicians are strongly attached to the system that elects them. The LDP in particular has flourished in the countryside. For most in the party, deliberately weakening its rural base and scope for patronage would be folly. MPs have counted on voting rules being too arcane for young voters to understand. However, public perceptions are changing” possibly because of the many implications of these shrinking regions not just politically but socially and economically.

For a comprehensive treatment of the topic that can easily be applied to many other countries, see the extremely well-reviewed Japan’s Shrinking Regions in the 21st Century: Contemporary Responses to Depopulation and Socioeconomic Decline by Peter Matanle and Anthony Rausch with the Shrinking Regions Research Group. This is a book that the journal Asian Anthropologist had a reviewer state ” My first impression was that it was extremely expensive. After reading it; I have decided that this book is something of a bargain”!

Recommend this Cambria Press book today! There are affordable Cambria Press e-book versions of this title.

Professors, if you would like to use this for your class, refer your librarian to the Cambria Press Desk Copy Plus Program that helps you get free versions for your students!

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