Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti is senior lecturer of political science and Japanese studies at Beit Berl College.Nissim Otmazgin is senior lecturer of modern Japanese history and politics at the Department of Asian Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Alon Levkowitz is lecturer and coordinator of the Asian Studies Program at Bar-Ilan University.

This is a truly fascinating book, adopting a multilayered and interdisciplinary approach to the comprehensive study of Japanese democracy. This book encompasses a lengthy time span, dating from the late 19th century to the present day, and readers will be able to understand and appreciate how Japanese democracy changed over this time. This book is a must read, not only for specialists of Japanese studies but also for graduate students and undergraduate students alike, who are interested in Japan, Japanese studies, or democracy in general.

• Chapter 1: “Introduction: Japan as a Multilayered Democracy,” Nissim Otmazgin, Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti, and Alon LevkowitzPart I: Pre-war Sources of Japanese DemocracyChapter 2: "11 February 1889: Japan's First Constitution," Lionel BabiczChapter 3: "Is Taisho Demokurashi the Same as Taisho Democracy?" Kiichi TachibanaChapter 4: "The making of private and public space in Meiji Japan," Kurt RadtkePart II: Democratic Institutions and State TransformationChapter 5: "The Postwar Emperor in Democratized Japan," Ben-Ami ShillonyChapter 6: "Japan's Remilitarization Debate and the Projection of Democracy," Sigal Ben-Rafael GalantiChapter 7: "Normalization, Democracy and the Armed Forces: the Transformation of the Japanese Military," Ben-Ari EyalChapter 8: "Japan's Labor Tribunal System: A New Paradigm for Democratic Justice?," Wered Ben-SadePart III: Political Culture and Civil SocietyChapter 9: "Americanization and Democratization: Cultural Aspects of Japanese Democracy," Nissim OtmazginChapter 10: "Democracy and Liberalism in Postwar Japan: the Legacies of the 1960s Student Uprising," Michal Daliot-BulChapter 11: "Televised Democracy? How Politicians Handle Questions during Broadcast Talk Shows," Ofer FeldmanChapter 12: "Pink Democracy: Dynamic Gender in Japan’s Women's Politics,” Ayala Klemperer-MarkmanChapter 13: "Is Democracy under Threat? Some Thoughts Concerning Japan and Elsewhere," J.A.A. Stockwin