New paper out at @electoralstudies.bsky.social. I show that - contrary to claims that personalised electoral systems are good for participation - Open Lists have no effect on turnout relative to Closed Lists; in fact, they increase rates of voter error. 🗳️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Very cool: Nikkei has teamed up with Teppei Yamamoto's company, VETA, to create a voting advice application for Japan's current lower house election using policy-based conjoint surveys. Try it out! ⬇️

In Japanese politics, the Liberal Democratic Party faces a fragmented opposition. This article identifies a specific point of conflict that is preventing anti-government voters from unifying under a single party. Read more here: tinyurl.com/55auzbdh

After years in academia, I’m exploring data science and research roles in industry. I'm a quant. social scientist (PhD Yale ’24, NYU) focused on causal inference, experiments, and large-scale data. Feel free to get in touch or share; all leads appreciated. [email protected]

🎉 Just published! JAPAN DECIDES 2024! The most comprehensive analysis and interpretation of last year's general election in Japan––which saw the ruling LDP lose its seat majority and presaged further upheaval in 2025. E-book: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

🎉 Just published! JAPAN DECIDES 2024! The most comprehensive analysis and interpretation of last year's general election in Japan––which saw the ruling LDP lose its seat majority and presaged further upheaval in 2025. E-book: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

When there's a Japan's House of Representatives race (Lower House), where the Prime Minister sits, a team of political scientists puts together a volume in the Japan Decides series (published by Springer) to cover the election's lead-up and results (thread) link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

⏰ Asia scholars, hurry up! Applications for APARC's 2026-2028 postdoctoral fellowships are due December 1. We offer multiple positions for recent PhDs across disciplines working on diverse issues related to contemporary Asia. 👉 Learn more and join us at Stanford next fall > stanford.io/4mS1bj8

Cool new paper by Trevor Incerti in the APSR! Political science research on Japan is undergoing a real renaissance in both its quality and relevance to the broader discipline––and a new generation of junior scholars like Trevor is leading the way.

Read "Winning Elections with Unpopular Policies: Valence Advantage and Single-Party Dominance in Japan," by @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social, @profdansmith.bsky.social, and @yusakuhoriuchi.bsky.social in Quarterly Journal of Political Science: www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta... (open-access link).

Join us for another exciting #JPOSS tomorrow night! Erik Wang (NYU) will present new research on state-building in medieval Japan, with discussion from Emily Sellars (Yale) and Jun Yamasaki (Kyoto). Details and registration below ⬇️

New OA article w/ @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social and @profdansmith.bsky.social. Q. Why does Japan’s LDP stay dominant even when its policies aren’t preferred? A: valence > policy. Check it out here ➡️ [http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/100.00024134] #PoliSci #Japan #Elections

Call for nominations for the Richard J. Samuels Dissertation Award in Japanese Studies from the United States-Japan Foundation (USJF). us-jf.org/en/news/usjf...

A very informative article explaining the conspiracy theories and ideologies motivating Japan's new far-right party, Sanseitō, which made substantial seat gains in last July's upper house election. Thanks to @rmarcantuoni.bsky.social & @robfahey.net for writing this.

✨ Now at QJPS: "Winning Elections with Unpopular Policies: Valence Advantage and Single-Party Dominance in Japan" w/ @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social & @yusakuhoriuchi.bsky.social. Open-access link to article: www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

Tuesday, 11/4, 8-9PM ET: Join Director Christina Davis and our Faculty Associates Amy Catalinac, Saori Katada, @adampliff.bsky.social, @lipscy.bsky.social, @profdansmith.bsky.social online to discuss "Japan's Prime Minister Takaichi: What Can We Expect?" munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/japans...

Upcoming virtual seminar: "Japan's New Prime Minister Takaichi: What Can We Expect?" Register ⬇️ iu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

One casualty in the Trump administration’s war on higher education is federal funding for area studies. This harms students, scholars, and U.S. national security. It also comes at a time in which political science and area studies are more compatible than ever before. Read on for new research! 1/

Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):

Sad news:

Tonight! ⬇️ #JPOSS is on a Wednesday, rather than the usual Thursday, and features Prof. Jacques Hymans (USC), with "Does official historical memory discourse move public opinion?The case of Japan’s new banknote designs."

Wed., 9/3, 8-9 pm ET: Join next #JPOSS to discuss Jacques Hymans's paper, “Official historical memory discourse and public opinion: The case of Japan’s new banknote designs” with Charles Crabtree, @yoshiono.bsky.social, and @lipscy.bsky.social. Paper and registration: jposs.org/event/hymans...

Happy to see this article now "in print" at @polbehavior.bsky.social 🎉 Open-access: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Why has women’s rise in politics been so slow even under PR? Our new APSR paper [out today!] shows how “hidden majoritarianism” in proportional systems shapes women’s progression from entering lists to reaching top offices.

Norway votes in 11 days 🇳🇴 More than a century after PR was introduced, women still hold under half the seats. In Norway’s closed-list system, nomination order is decisive—women are projected to occupy ~44% of seats in 2025 (based on 2021 party seat shares across districts).

🎉Now online (open access): "Hidden Majoritarianism and Women’s Career Progression in Proportional Representation Systems" at @apsrjournal.bsky.social. @alicirone.bsky.social, @teele.bsky.social, Gary Cox, @fiva.no. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Want to work for CSES, or know someone who does? GESIS (@gesis.org) is hiring a full-time Senior Researcher, based in Germany, in the area of International Electoral Research. The application deadline is August 15, 2025. For more information, see: www.gesis.org/en/institute...

This seems like a potentially useful new tool for the political science job market, particularly for jobs outside of the most competitive searches in "top" departments.

In Japan's upper house election last month, the two "populist" parties did best where turnout increased most, suggesting mobilization of voters frustrated with establishment parties. Municipality-level analysis in this article, with a quote from me (in Japanese). ⬇️ digital.asahi.com/articles/AST...

The European Political Science Society is now accepting paper & panel proposals for its annual conference! 📢 Call for Papers: EPSS 2026 – Belfast
 🗓️ June 18–20, 2026
 📍 ICC Belfast
 📬 Deadline: Nov 7, 2025 🧵

Applications for the CSIS Japan Chair's paid fall internship are open. The deadline to apply is August 11. Research Agenda: - Japanese domestic politics and foreign policy - U.S.-Japan security and economic ties - U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific region careers.csis.org/opportunitie...

Politics moves fast sometimes. Yesterday, I was skeptical that Japan and the US would have a trade deal by the August 1 "deadline" and that PM Ishiba would hang on. Now things will get interesting... japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/pol...

A conjoint-like table of parties’ policy positions in the wild. These are common in election campaign coverage by Japanese newspapers. (For Sunday’s upper house election.) #JapanDecides

We're hiring! The Graduate School of Social Sciences at Hitotsubashi University is seeking a non-tenure track lecturer. The application deadline is August 31, 2025 (JST). For more information, see: jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekJor...

Happy Juneteenth! Join us on Zoom tonight for #JPOSS, featuring a cool new historical political economy paper on early modern Japan by Shusuke Ioku (Rochester). ⬇️

Secretary of Commerce Lutnick: “These are important trade issues. A very strong Japanese man, a sumo wrestler I believe, told me with tears in his eyes ‘the coffee here is weak, so weak. Please bring us your strong American coffee.’”

What happened in Japan's 2024 general election, when the ruling LDP had its second worst seat loss in history? "Japan Decides 2024" is now available for pre-order, and due in print in fall. The volume features extensive analysis from top scholars of Japanese politics. a.co/d/8LHANvH

This is a puzzle in Japanese politics, too. In a forthcoming article at QJPS, @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social, @yusakuhoriuchi.bsky.social, and I argue that the disconnect can be explained by "valence" (e.g., trust). Would love to see similar research on the sources of Republican valence advantage.

The newly released 2025 election lists reveal a persistent pattern: in Norway, women remain underrepresented at the top—despite 100+ years of proportional representation.

Thurs., 6/19, 8-9 pm ET: Join next #JPOSS to discuss Shusuke Ioku's paper, “Weapons of the Weak: Population Mobility and the Construction of the State in Early Modern Japan, with Francisco Garfias @fgarfias.bsky.social, Chiaki Moriguchi, and Amy Catalinac (Chair). Info: jposs.org/event/ioku-0...

Tonight! ⬇️

⏳Due Sunday! Submit your JPSA-APSA Working Group application by June 1st. Explore civic research on demographic change in Tokyo, Japan, in October 2025. #PoliSci #JPSA #APSA 🔗Apply today! buff.ly/5lbML1t #PoliSci #JPSA #APSA

On June 16 at noon (ET), I will hold a super informal Zoom workshop on "Navigating the Tenure Track System" for political science graduate students and postdocs about to start a tenure track position. #polisci To register, pls fill the following form: shorturl.at/vVuQb

Sangyong Son's paper, “Extreme Wartime Violence and Attitudes toward the Use of Force: Evidence from Atomic Bomb Survivors," has been posted for the next #JPOSS on 5/29 ET. As an update, Wilhelm Vosse ‪@vosse.bsky.social will join @chriswblair.bsky.social as a discussant. jposs.org/event/son-05...

Granting Curtis LeMay an Imperial decoration has always been hard to understand. Good that it is back in the news: www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Thurs., 5/29, 8-9 pm ET: Join next #JPOSS to discuss the paper by Sangyong Son (NYU), “Extreme Wartime Violence and Attitudes toward the Use of Force: Evidence from Atomic Bomb Survivors, with @chriswblair.bsky.social and @profdansmith.bsky.social Registration: jposs.org/event/son-05...

#JPOSS is organized by Amy Catalinac, Christina Davis, @sfujihira.bsky.social, @yusakuhoriuchi.bsky.social, Saori Katada, @lipscy.bsky.social, and @profdansmith.bsky.social. Please check out Sangyong Son's website. We look forward to your participation! sangyongson.com

Now officially forthcoming at @apsrjournal.bsky.social! 🎉

📣 Job opening alert: CSIS Japan Chair is now accepting applications for a Fellow/Senior Fellow and a Research Assistant! More information: careers.csis.org/opportunities

🚨 REPLICATION REPORT UPDATE: One year ago, a tweet by John Holbein alerted me, @ollefolke.bsky.social, and @jopieboy.bsky.social to a paper with a shocking result about Sweden’s law criminalizing the purchase of sex.🧵