"This book offers a fresh and original perspective on Japan's democratization and on democratic transitions more generally. Surprisingly, given Japan's importance, most theories of democratic change fail to explain why Japan's top-down democracy took root. Mary Alice Haddad offers a new ‘state-in-society’ model to show how citizens at the grassroots level embraced and advanced an alien set of arrangements and made them work. Haddad offers a compelling argument and at the same time tells a fascinating story. Here is a book that merits a wide readership."
Susan J. Pharr, Harvard University

"At a time when nations like Tunisia and Egypt are embarking on paths toward democracy, Mary Alice Haddad offers us a reminder that nations that have trod this road before have taken a long time to get there. Her fascinating portrayal of the fits and starts experienced by Japan over the postwar period is a reminder that we likely won't see "real" democracy in these most recent transitions until today's children make up a majority of the voters."
Leonard Schoppa, University of Virginia

"By intensive interviews of Japanese citizens and broad reading, Mary Alice Haddad has found how ordinary Japanese citizens played an active role in shaping a more democratic political structure. The trend toward greater democracy had been developing after World War II. It accelerated when a tipping point was reached as a new generation of young people with different perspectives replaced the seniors and began to take a more active role in expanding democracy."
Ezra F. Vogel, Harvard University

"… comes as a long-awaited, welcome piece … empirically rich and theoretically challenging … will rejuvenate the debate on Japanese democracy … is a valuable asset in the discipline of Japanese politics and deserves wide readership."
Sunil Kim, Japanese Journal of Political Science