Government History

During Japan's Medieval Times, the Japanese government ran on a system of feudalism. The order of power was as follows:

common people--> local authorities--> daimyo--> bakufu (central government during the Tokugawa period)--> shogun

The system of feudalism was stopped by the Meiji Restoration in 1868 which brought the Meiji Constitution (1889). This constitution brought power back into the hands of the emperor.

Post World War II brought another change in government. The constitution adopted at Japan's surrender gave power to the people. In direct contrast to the Meiji Constitution, the emperor now has no power and no right to even be a part of the political process but is still considered the ceremonial head or symbol of state. This constitution is still in effect today.

Modern Government

The Japanese system of government is very similar to the governments of European parliamentary procedures. Japan was the first country in all of Asian to institute a parliamentary system of government. The Chief of State is the Emperor, currently Emperor Akihito (as of January 7, 1989).

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures which are each ruled by their own governors and assemblies.

Executive

The present Constitution states that executive power resides in the Cabinet. The Cabinet is headed by the prime minister (currently Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto as of January 11, 1996). Also included into the Cabinet are 20 ministers who assist the prime minister in his duties and whom the prime minister appoints.

Legislative

The Parliamentary Diet is bicameral, meaning it has two legislative branches or houses. The lower house, the House of Representatives, has 512 members who serve a term of four years. This house controls the budget and is in charge of approving foreign treaties. The upper house, the House of Councilors, has 252 members. Councilors serve six year terms each. House of Representatives members must be at least 25 years old whereas Councilors need to be at least 30 years old. The Diet is run by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is selected by the House of Councilors from among its members.

Elections& Voting

The legal voting age is 20 for all elections- national, prefectural and local. Elections for the House of Councilors are held every three years with half of the Councilors being voted in at each election. Voter turnout was recently counted as 60% for all eligible voters. The emperor is not elected; he is a constitutional monarch. The prime minister also cannot be elected but is instead chosen by the Diet. The prime minister is usually the leader of the majority party or coalition in the House of Representatives. For instance, the current prime minister, Hashimoto, is the leader of the majority part, the Liberal Democratic Party.

Political Parties

There are over10,000 political parties in Japan since Japanese law requires any group of people who support a candidate to register as a party. However, there are only about three political parties in Japan with real influence: The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Socialist Party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the New Frontier Party (NFP or Shinshinto). The LDP favors slow, gradual development and is very conservative. The LDP was founded in 1955 and is the most influential and largest party though it had been rocked with scandals since the 70s. The SDP was created in 1994 as a result of a merger between several smaller parties. All three usually get some seats in the Diet.

Judicial System

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Japan. Below the Supreme Court are eight High Courts and then 47 district courts-one for each of Japan's 47 prefectures and then a variety of smaller courts. There are fourteen Justices in the Supreme Court; they are all appointed by the Cabinet and serve 10-year terms. The Chief Justice is chosen by the Cabinet and then appointed by the emperor. The Japanese civil law system is modeled after the systems in Europe. It includes no jury system; the justices decide the verdict. Trials are far less publicized and dramatic than it is in America. A plus though: there are far fewer lawyers in Japan than in America!