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Officially, Japan is a constitutional monarchy with the emperor
as the head of state. Like the British queen, the emperor is
basically a figurehead but one who receives a great deal of respect.
Elected officials are considered to be erai (great, worthy
of respect) and it is much more common than in
Europe or the US for electoral seats to be 'inherited' by family
members. The power of rural politicians tends to rest in their
ability to satisfy their constituents by bringing infrastructure
projects - roads, bridges, bullet train lines etc - to their region.
The impression you get is that city dwellers tend to stay away
from the ballot box in favor of interest groups and citizens'
movements. Political news often dominates TV and newspapers but
most Japanese do not get directly involved in politics and there
seems to be a general sense of apathy towards the subject.
History
Prewar Japan was governed by the Meiji Constitution of
1889. Though it was based on British and German parliamentary
models, government elders saw to it that ministers were personally
responsible to the emperor, who was the center of power. As these
elders began to die off towards the end of the century, a political
vaccuum opened up which led to power struggles between various
factions. With the executive being weak for many years and the
army and navy ministers being active servicmen, the military began
to exert more influence in the 1930's. Following the so-called
February 26th Incident in 1936, an attempted coup by junior army officers in which several
senior politicians were killed, the military increased their power
even more and laid the foundations for the
Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) and Pacific War (1941-45).
The constitution was revised, mostly by US government advisers,
during the Allied Occupation. The current constitution was enacted in 1947. Emancipation for
women was introduced and the voting age was reduced from 25 to
20. The government changed hands several times in the decade following
the war but once the Liberal Democratic
Party (Jiyu Minshuto) gained power in 1955, they held the reins for
almost 40 years. The party's tight grip on power was helped by
several things. The increased material wealth enjoyed by the nation,
an election system heavily biased towards rural areas (where the
party remains strong), close ties with wealthy business supporters,
policy moderation, and a party system that always seems to be
more orgainized than the opposition all led to a government that
was full of corruption and arrogance.
The many factions that make up the LDP have always clamored for
their turn in power so changes of prime minister have been frequent.
A new prime minister usually brings a new cabinet and the constant
changeovers led to increased power for the bureaucrats, whose
'job for life' careerist attitudes have slowed or prevented real
change in national policy.
Decades of prosperity led the people as a whole to believe that
the LDP was doing a good job. Only the late-60's saw nationwide
campaigns that challenged the conservative government. Campaigns
against pollution-related diseases and protests against the US-Japan
Security Treaty and the Vietnam War were in tune with left-wing protest movements
in other countries at the time. The student movement, in particular,
became the center of national attention in 1968-9. Since that
time, consumer and citizen movements have gained influence in
issues affecting daily life. But the passive attitude of most
Japanese towards party politics meant that even major bribery
scandals which hit the LDP in the 1970's and 80's couldn't bring
the party down. Only when the 'bubble economy' burst in the 1990's
did any real changes begin to happen. The LDP lost power in 1993
and later had to enter a coalition government. But even though
it relies on coalition partners to stay in power, it is the LDP
which pulls the strings and chooses the prime minister from among
its ranks.
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The main entrance and central tower of the Diet building (left).
Built in 1936, it is located in Nagatacho, central Tokyo. The
late prime minister Obuchi Keizo (1937-2000) was once described
as being like 'cold pizza'. But the bland politician, who served
from 1998 until his untimely death from a stroke, enjoyed surprising
poularity even among young people. In the election held shortly
after Obuchi's death, his vacant seat was contested and won by
his 26-year old daughter, Yuko. |
Political System
The Kokkai (Diet) is divided into the Sangi-in (lower
chamber or House of Councillors) whose members serve
a six-year term - half of the members are elected every three
years - and the Shugi-in (upper chamber or House
of Representatives) whose members are elected
to a four-year term. The Sangi-in has 247 members, 149 members in multi-seat
constituencies and 98 by proportional representation.The Shugi-in has 480
members, 300 members in single-seat constituencies and 180 members by
proportional representation in 11 regional blocs.
Executive power is vested solely in the naikaku (cabinet), which
consists of the sori daijin (prime minister) and not more than 15
daijin (ministers of state) and is collectively responsible to the Diet.
This means that, when requested, they must attend sessions of
both houses and their committees to answer questions on government
policy. Question Time, a feature of the British parliament, was
recently introduced to the Diet.
The prime minister has the power to appoint and dismiss the ministers
of state, a majority of whom must also be members of the Diet
(non-Diet members are rare). Ministerial posts are usually divided
up between the different factions or coalition partners in an
effort to keep everybody happy. In an effort to curb militarism,
the constitution includes the requirement that all ministers must
be civilians. Following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House
of Representatives usually becomes prime minister. In the case
of the dominant LDP, the party president was routinely chosen.
Recently, with the many factions within the party, the choice
of prime minister has often been the result of a lot of behind-the-scenes
power-broking.
Uuntil recently, the government framework was made up of the Prime
Minister's Office, 12 ministeries and 10 agencies. The system
was revised in January 2001 in an attempt to increase efficiency
and strengthen political control over decision making. Under the
revised system, the structure now consists of the Cabinet Office,
10 ministries and 2 agencies. The ministries are: Justice; Foreign
Affairs; Finance (Japanese name changed from Okurasho to Zaimusho
); Education, Science and Technology; Health, Labour and Welfare;
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Economy, Trade and Industry;
Construction and Transport; Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts
and Telecommunications (whew!); and Environment (upgraded from
an agency).
If the House of Representatives passes a resolution of nonconfidence
or rejects a resolution of confidence in the Government, the cabinet
must resign unless the House of Representatives is dissolved within
10 days.
The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. The chief
justice is appointed by the emperor after designation
by the cabinet and all other justices are appointed by the cabinet.
Regional Administration
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, and
local administration is conducted at the levels of prefectural,
city, town, and village governments, each with their respective
assemblies. The prefectural governors and city, town, and village
mayors, as well as the members of the local assemblies, are elected
by the voters registered to be residing in the particular district.
Local governments employ over 3 million people, including about
a million teachers and quarter of a million police officers.
The Constitution of Japan (on the website of Mizuho Securities)
Official Government websites:
Prime Minister's Official Residence
House of Representatives
House of Councillors
Supreme Court
National Diet Library
National Archives of Japan
Cabinet Office
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications
Ministry of the Environment
Defense Agency
National Public Safety Commission (Japanese only)
National Police Agency
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