In the early 1980s, facing the financial crises in their public pension systems, the governments of both the United States and Japan proposed reform. In each case the reform efforts failed. A few years later policy proposals by special commissions led to the enactment of reform legislation in both countries. No major political upheavals occurred in the intervening years; but in both cases, failure turned into success in a short period. The article demonstrates that similar shifts in political strategy (the use of special commissions) produced parallel outcomes (the benefits cut reforms). This study points to the universal components of political strategy in democratic systems at the same time as it emphasizes the distinctive feature of the American and Japanese political systems.
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