Part I. Introduction

1. Komeito: The Most Understudied Party of Japanese Politics — 3
George Ehrhardt, Axel Klein, Levi McLaughlin & Steven R. Reed

Part II. The Context

2. Religious Groups in Japanese Electoral Politics — 25
Axel Klein & Steven R. Reed

Part III. The History

3. Electioneering as Religious Practice: A History of Soka Gakkai's Political Activities to 1970 — 51
Levi McLaughlin

4. Komeito's Uncertain Decades between Religion and Politics — 83
Yuki Abe & Masahisa Endo

Part IV. The Structure

5. How Komeito Politicians Get Elected — 113
George Ehrhardt

6. Party Ideals and Practical Constraints in Komeito Candidate Nominations — 139

Daniel Markham Smith

7. Soka Gakkai, Komeito, and Money in Japanese Politics — 163
Matthew Carlson

8. Housewife Voters and Komeito Policies — 187
George Ehrhardt

Part V. The Way to Power

9. Anti-Komeito Counter-Mobilizations — 215
Axel Klein & Steven R. Reed

10. Komeito in Coalition — 240
Linda Hasunuma & Axel Klein

Part VI. Conclusion

11. Komeito: Religion and Politics in Japan — 269
George Ehrhardt, Axel Klein, Levi McLaughlin, Steven R. Reed

List of contributors — 277

Index — 279