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It is probably a mistake to use loaded terms from our own political discourse to describe the inner workings of Japanese politics. Words like 'consensus' lose the meanings we attach to them when applied to a Japanese context. When Westerners speak of 'consensus' we're speaking of the outer convergence of inner belief. When the Japanese speak of 'consensus,' they do not mean shared belief, but the OUTER APPEARANCE of shared belief. In the US and other Western nations, our belief in the significance and vitality of the individual human being demands a 'consensus' politics of genuine consensus (see: Immigration, Comprehensive Reform). Japanese culture, which does NOT value the individual to the same degree, favors a 'consensus' politics which puts a premium on the appearance of uniformity. 'Consensus' in this context means simply the lack of public debate, not the presence of broad agreement. The LDP's success has always been built upon this ability to marshal the formal aesthetics of consensus (often, as in this case, through blatantly coercive means), rather than on an ability (meaningless in a Japanese context) to build real agreement.
