THE RISE AND FALL OF JAPAN'S LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions, by Ellis S. Krauss and Robert J. Pekkanen. Cornell University Press, 2011, 318 pp., $26.95 (paper)

Japanese politics is in a sad state these days with the media likening Diet debate to flatulence. Voters' expectations soared when the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a landslide victory over the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in August 2009, taking control over both houses of the Diet.

The DPJ, however, has disappointed ever since with fumbling leadership and lost control of the Upper House in July 2010.

Deadlock in the Diet courtesy of the LDP has disillusioned voters and means that Japan's huge problems fester.