Abstract
Efforts are made in the article to examine the process of leadership recruitment in the Japanese House of Representatives in the first 74 years of the Japanese Diet, that is since its inception in 1890, through the use of canonical analysis. The central question concerns what it takes to be a leader in the Diet, such as a cabinet member, for example.
Major findings include: (1) the recruitment process has become more "structured" over the years; (2) gerontocracy continues to prevail in the Diet; (3) the younger a Diet member enters politics, the better the chance he or she has of being recruited into a leadership position; (4) other important variables in the process include party identification, occupation, and travel overseas; and (5) the pattern of changes in the "structure of opportunities" for leadership in the Diet reflects the nature of the political path Japan has followed during the 74-year period. Thus, political leaders cannot be separated from the "transformation of need" in their society.
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