No Connections, No Money, No Political Dynasty—Three Routes for an Ordinary Person to Enter Japan’s National Parliament

When I look at Japanese politicians, I am struck by how many inherited their positions from family members.

Hereditary candidates begin with an overwhelming advantage because they inherit what Japanese politics calls the “three bans”: jiban, a local support base; kanban, name recognition; and kaban, campaign funds.

How, then, can an ordinary person who was not born into a political family become a member of the National Diet, Japan’s parliament?

When I thought about it, I found three main routes.

Route 1: Graduate from the University of Tokyo and Become an Elite Bureaucrat

The first is the elite route.

Graduate from a highly selective university such as the University of Tokyo, pass the comprehensive national civil service examination, and become a career-track bureaucrat in Kasumigaseki, the district where Japan’s central ministries are located.

After gaining experience in policymaking and building a professional network, move into politics in your forties or fifties.

Titles such as “former Ministry of Finance bureaucrat” or “former Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry bureaucrat” also provide powerful credentials in politics.

Even without a local support base, political parties value such candidates as policy experts who can contribute immediately.

The problem is that the initial hurdle is far too high.

Only a tiny handful of people can enter the University of Tokyo in the first place and then rise through the bureaucracy.

We are supposed to be considering how an ordinary person can become a politician, yet this route immediately demands extraordinary ability.

Route 2: Work Your Way Up as a Politician’s Secretary

The second route depends more on relationships and hard work than on academic credentials.

Become a secretary to a local member of the National Diet and take responsibility for support-group activities and visits throughout the constituency.

Spend years building relationships with influential local figures and supporters while learning the practical work of politics. Then, when the lawmaker retires, have them designate you as their successor.

This route allows someone who was not born into a political family to acquire a support base.

But it has one fatal problem.

What if the lawmaker you serve has a son who wants to enter politics?

You may have spent decades working as a secretary and building a local network.

Then, when the lawmaker finally retires, they announce, “After all, I am going to let my son take over.”

At that moment, all your years of effort disappear in an instant.

Elections have in fact taken place in which a longtime secretary and a hereditary candidate fought over the right to succeed the retiring politician.

On the secretary route, job performance is not the only thing that matters.

You must decide whom to serve—and assess that politician’s family circumstances as well.

At that point, it is less like studying politics and more like gambling on your choice of employer.

Route 3: Move from Journalism into Politics

The final route uses public recognition as an asset.

Build a career and a public profile as a newspaper reporter, television news presenter, or journalist, then move into politics.

This route is particularly compatible with opposition parties.

Journalists often work from a position of scrutinizing power and criticizing the government.

That creates a natural progression in which they declare, “Something is wrong with today’s politics,” and run as an opposition candidate.

With sufficient name recognition, they can fight an election without an established local support base.

But this route also has a drawback.

Even if they win as an opposition candidate, they are unlikely to be in a position to implement policy unless their party takes power.

They may be able to criticize the government, but that does not mean they will be able to run it themselves.

Still, if becoming a member of the National Diet is the goal in itself, that may count as success.

What About Starting in Local Politics and Working Toward the National Diet?

Is there no way to begin somewhere more accessible?

One option, for example, is to become a member of a city or town assembly.

Unlike a seat in the National Diet, this is a position an ordinary person has a realistic chance of winning by steadily building a record of activity in the local community.

Work on local issues, earn the trust of residents, and win an election.

From there, gain experience and perhaps move up to a seat in the prefectural assembly.

At first glance, this looks like an admirably steady career path.

Serve several terms on a city council and build a record of achievement in the community.

Next, run for the prefectural assembly and accumulate still more experience and connections.

Then, just as you finally establish the support base needed to run for the National Diet…

You have become an old man.

Advancing one step at a time is a steady way to build a political career, but it simply takes far too long.

By the time you are ready to enter the National Diet, your remaining life as a politician is already running out.