Politics of Japan

Japan politics system is parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. Japan executive and judiciary systems are based on Constitution and strictly executed laws, issued by Diet.

 

Constitution of Japan

According to the Constitution, the supreme power belongs to Japan nation. The power is divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The head of legislative power is Diet, the head of executive power is Cabinet of ministers, the head of judicial branch is Supreme court. Diet is most powerful of the 3 branches. it is an instrument of representative democracy. In cooperation with the Cabinet of ministers it possesses the main power in the country. The heredity monarch ? Emperor ? is being the symbol of the state and unity of Japanese nation. According to the Constitution, Emperor does not possess real legal power, his right to appoint and remove the members of the Cabinet of ministers can be limited by Diet.
According to the Constitution, Japan is divided into 47 regions under the current Local Autonomy Law, among them metropolis, circuit, urban prefectures and prefectures. The second level of division, the smaller governmental bodies are cities, towns, and villages. Each of them has the structures of local power, which function according to the laws and regulations.

 

Legislative power

The head of legislative power is Diet. It is the only structure which is authorized to issue laws. It consists of 2 Houses: the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. Every citizen has the right to be directly elected to become a member of Diet. Diet is an instrument of representative democracy. No Diet member can be a member of the 2 Houses at the same time.

 

Members of Diet

Although the time of duty of members of the House of Representatives is 4 years, it is terminated if Diet is dismissed. The decision about Diet dismissal is made by Cabinet of Ministers and carried out by Emperor. In case of a resolution of non-confidence to the Cabinet made by the Diet, the Cabinet shall resign or order the Diet to dissolve. (art. 7, 69). The elections of the members of the House of Representatives are called general elections. General elections are based both on single-seat constituencies system and proportional representation system.　There are 480 members of the House of Representatives (300 of them are elected according to single-seat constituencies system and 180 according to proportional representation system). The House of Councilors consists of 242 members, 146 of them are elected according to single-seat constituencies system and 96 according to proportional representation system.

 

Sessions of Diet

Diet holds one regular session per year. There are also special sessions, which are held on demand of Cabinet of Ministers. The debates are based on the principle that the same matter can be discussed only once during one session. The length of usual session is 150 days. It can be prolonged only once. The length of special sessions is decided by both Houses, these sessions can be prolonged twice. If the House of Representatives do not have enough votes to make a decision about special session prolongation, the final decision is based on position of House of Councilors.

 

Political Parties

There are no strict rules in the Constitution on matter of political parties. According to the article Political Organizations of Political Funds Control Law, the organization who has at least 5 representative in Diet or wins above 2% of votes at the elections is considered to be a Political Party. Political Parties must make their income and expenditures transparent to public. Donations should be made according to the Act on Granting of Juridical Personality to Political Party Receiving Political Party Grants.

 

Present Political Situation

The 45 the general Diet elections held on the 8 of August 2009 came to be a big defeat for Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito Party. The same year Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party and People`s New Party have created a coalition. Now the Prime Minister is a Member of Democratic Party ? Kan Naoto.

 

Executive Branch

Executive Power belongs to the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister is being designated by the Diet from among its members, after that the position should be appointed by the Emperor. The Prime Minister appoints The Ministers of State, who form the Cabinet`s structure. Prime Minister has right to dismiss the Ministers of State. Although The Prime Minister is being designated from the Diet`s members, it is enough if more than a half of State Ministers are the members of the Diet.
The Cabinet of Ministers can be dismissed in the following situations:
・A resolution of non-confidence to the Cabinet has been made by the Diet and the Diet has not been dissolved.
・Prime Minister`s position is being vacant.
・By decision of a newly elected House of Representatives during the first session of Diet.

 

Judicial Brach of Power

Judicial power belongs to the Supreme Court and its subordinate structures. The Head of Supreme Court is presented by the Cabinet of Ministers and appointed by the Emperor. The other members are appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers. After being appointed, the members of the Supreme Court execute their duties for a period of 10 years. the age limit for this position is 70 years old. The members of the lower Courts (High Court, District Court, Family Court, summary Court) are appointed by the Cabinet of Minister from the list presented by Supreme Court. The members of the Courts execute their duties for a period of 10 years (can also be appointed for a next period), the age limit for this position is 65 years old (70 for Summary Court).

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