Press Release, 8.10.2025

On Tuesday, 14 October Yabloko will host a public lecture “Not Only the West: Democracy Japanese-Style”. The lecture will be delivered by Alexander Gnezdilov, member of Yabloko’s Federal Political Committee, editor-in-chief of Smart Power Journal and author of the Telegram channel “Gnezdilov. Against the Current”. The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The end of the Second World War, the Tokyo trial of war criminals and the adoption of the so-called Peace Constitution of 1947 during the American occupation meant that Japan, renouncing militarism, embarked on the path of liberal parliamentary democracy. In this capacity, the country became one of the world’s largest economies and a full member of the G7.

At the same time, the authenticity of Japanese democracy has been questioned more than once. This was primarily connected with the long-term dominance in Japanese politics of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP): in 70 years since 1955, there have been only two brief periods (1993-1996 and 2009-2012) when LDP representatives did not head the Japanese government.

During the public lecture, Alexander Gnezdilov together with participants will answer the questions:

To what extent is Japan’s political system truly competitive and democratic?

What historical legacy were Japanese democrats and liberals able to draw upon?

What is changing in Japanese politics at present, when the LDP lost its majority in the lower house in 2024 and in the upper house of parliament in 2025?

What does the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba from the post of LDP leader and Prime Minister of Japan in October 2025 mean for the country’s course, and who is replacing him?

What forces compete with the LDP and how do global trends influence Japanese politics, including the growing influence of dictatorships and the rise of right-wing and far-right populism in democratic countries?

“The lecture will be the first in a cycle dedicated to modern developed democracies of the Far East that have managed to adapt society to virtually Western political institutions,” note the organisers of the upcoming lecture, experts from the Yabloko party’s Analytical Centre.

The event will take place at the Yabloko party office in Moscow (Pyatnitskaya 31 bldg 2) on 14 October at 7:00 p.m. Please register for the lecture here: https://party-yabloko.timepad.ru/event/3614317/