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Table 1. Types of Year-Based Expenditures in Japan
Characteristics
Regulations on Accepting Funds
Party Branch
--Receives party subsidy;
--Typically 1 SMD branch per candidate
--No limits on amount of funds received
Fund Agent
--Only one per candidate allowed
--Limits for corporations: ¥500,000 ($4,700)
--Limits for individuals:¥1,500,000 ($14,000)
Support Groups --Multiple support groups possible
--Corporations not allowed to contribute
--Individuals limited to ¥150,000 ($1,400)
The ability of politicians to spend funds are likely to be shaped by the campaign
finance regulations on the qualitative and quantitative regulations on accepting funds as
specified in Table 1. However, politicians are legally permitted to transfer funds between
the local party branch, fund agent and support groups. This allows them to raise funds
through one source and spend it through another.
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Thus, the effects of own and rival
expenditures from the three types of organizations may not only suggest the effects of
current campaign finance regulations, but also the strategic response of politicians and
parties to the new rules governing the flow of money at the district level. In the next
section, I detail the empirical model I use to test out the effects of own and rival
expenditures on LDP and DPJ vote shares.
7. The Empirical Model
In order to consider how interparty competition might affect spending and vote
shares, I consider the spending patterns of the main rival in the district, who is often the
previous incumbent or the main competitor from a rival party. Following Reed (1999), I
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In the case of the LDP, for example, many politicians raise funds through the party branch where there
are few restrictions and then transfer and spend the money on their support groups (Sasaki et al. 1999).
Convention