As Japan confronts political realignment at home and a shifting global order, questions about the future of its democracy have taken on new urgency.
Join political analyst Tobias Harris on Monday, May 4, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Kane Hall 225 for the 19th Griffith and Patricia Way Lecture. In his talk, Japan’s Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty, Harris will examine the unraveling of the “Abe consensus” — the political framework that shaped Japan’s governance for more than a decade under former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
The Abe consensus rested on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in partnership with Komeito, maintaining stable governing majorities while promoting economic growth, expanding Japan’s military capabilities, and strengthening international partnerships under U.S. leadership. In recent years, however, that foundation has weakened. The LDP has faced declining public trust, strained ties with Komeito, and the loss of its once-dominant parliamentary position. At the same time, shifts in U.S. foreign policy and the global order have created new uncertainties for Japan’s strategic future.
Drawing on two decades of experience analyzing Japanese politics and Asian geopolitics, Harris will explore how this political order came apart — and what its unraveling means for Japan’s democratic future.
Harris is founder and principal of Japan Foresight LLC and senior adviser for Japan at Aurora Macro Strategies. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. He is also the author of “The Iconoclast: Shinzō Abe and the New Japan.”
The lecture is free and open to the public, and registration is now open here. Guests are invited to stay for a reception immediately following the program.
The Way Lecture is presented by the UW Japan Studies Program and made possible by the Griffith and Patricia Way Lecture Endowment.