How was the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan able to keep itself in power for over three decades (1955-1993)?
How much did moneyed politics or US assistance such as possibly from the CIA play a hand in this? Or was their electoral success over three decades in power due to their successful handling of the Japanese economy and the post-war rebuilding?
The massive success of the Japanese Economy (sometimes called the Economic Miracle) in the 50s and 60s saw economic growth of 10% or more per year for a while, ushering in the "Golden Sixties." In 15 years, the GDP of Japan skyrocketed $91 billion to slightly more than $1 trillion.
The LDP (being in power of the government in that time) was given a lot of the credit for the economic upswing and has been able to milk the memory to keep in power for decades.