Campaigning for the Japanese Lower House : from mobilising to chasing voters?

Electioneering for the Japanese Lower House has undergone significant changes in recent years. Not only institutional but also other environmental changes are pushing political actors in Japan to complement the hitherto dominant vote-mobilisation approach by vote-chasing strategies. Such strategies target in particular unaffiliated voters and emphasise party leaders. Yet, the notion of an "Americanisation" of campaigning in Japan seems pre-mature at best. Notably, electioneering for the Lower House has become more party-oriented in the course of introducing new voter chasing strategies. It remains to be seen though whether specific campaign instruments and tactics used in recent general elections, such as the manifesto approach, can generate value-added in the longer term. -- Election campaigning ; mixed-member electoral system ; voter targeting ; Americanisation thesis ; Japan