The survey reviews recent research on political behavior in Japan and describes the nature and institutional setting of political science in Japan. Political science is regarded as a small academic discipline which is frequently an adjunct to another academic department within a university. Political scientists in Japan have exhibited less interest in political behavior than in more traditional areas of research, but this lack of interest has been offset somewhat by political survey research by nonacademic organizations. Scholars who do research in comparative political behavior prefer one of two models: (1) sociological (which ascribes political behavior to socioeconomic factors), or (2) psychological (which postulates the importance of mental attitudes as major influences in political action and choice). Scholars using the sociological interpretation concentrate on basic sociopolitical cleavages, political partisanship, value systems, and class makeup of political parties. Those preferring psychological interpretations deal most often with party identification and loyalty, political socialization, and attitudinal and community influences on voting. A section on contemporary trends in political behavior suggests that, although political attitudes still reflect Japan's unstable political history, some patterns of convergence between Japanese and western political culture can be noted as Japan begins to experience a post-industrial emphasis on political performance instead of party labels. (Author/DB)