THE ROLE OF SCANDAL IN U.S. AND JAPANESE POLITICS:
TRUMP, ABE, AND THEIR POLITICAL FUTURES
by Kai Kurosu
Category: Humanities
Abstract – Continuing the research I began in my previous paper The Acquisition of Formal and Informal Political Power in the United States and Japan (presented at the Young Researchers Conference in 2018) in this paper I will examine the role of scandal in the politics of the United States and Japan, as well as the extent to which scandals lead to the decline or consolidation of formal and informal political power. In these last two years since the presentation of my first paper, the United States and Japan have both experienced dramatic changes and important events in politics. Using the research compiled in the previous paper as background information on U.S. and Japanese political culture, this new and updated paper will analyze shifts in American and Japanese politics and will predict whether or not Trump and Abe’s scandals will have a significant effect on the future of their respective political careers.