Mary Alice Haddad, Associate Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Cohort I participant, has written a new book addressing complex questions at the center of democratic transition and examining the ways in which democratic values become integrated into the fabric of a nation’s society and political structure. She takes an in-depth look at the democratic transformation in contemporary Japan focusing on state-society interactions. The book seeks to provide readers with a new understanding of the ways in which Japan altered its political structure in order to pave the way for new democratic values, institutions and practices. The book searches for answers by tracing the historical legacy of the nation and stresses the importance of generational changes in crafting a new political culture in Japan.