Japanese political system

JAPANESE POLITICAL SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

Unlike the American political system and the British political system which essentially have existed in their current form for centuries, the present Japanese political system is a much more recent construct dating from Japan's defeat in the Second World War and its subsequent occupation by the United States. The post-war constitution of 1947 is an anti-militarist document which includes the renunciation of the right to wage war and prohibits the maintenance of armed forces although later a limited self-defence force was permitted.

The constitution was drawn up under the Allied occupation. It is a rigid document and, since its adoption, no major amendment has been made to it.

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Japan is a constitutional monarchy (like Britain) where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people".

The Prime Minister is chosen for a term of four years, although the political turbulence of the Japanese system is such that he rarely serves a full term. He must win a majority in the Diet in a single signed ballot. If the two houses cannot reach agreement, the decision of the House of Representatives always prevails. The official residence of the Prime Minister is called the Kantei.

Shinzo Abe is the Prime Minister, a position he held before in 2007. He is Japan's seventh Prime Minister in six years.

The Prime Minister choses his Cabinet which is limited by a constitutional amendment of 2001 to an additional 14 regular members with the possibility of three special members. At least half of the Cabinet must be members of the Diet.

THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Japanese legislature is called the Kokkai or Diet and is a bicameral structure. Generally decisions are made on a majority vote, but a two-thirds majority is required in special cases.

The lower house in the Japanese political system is the Shugi-in or House of Representatives. It has 480 seats and members serve a four-year term. Of the 480 seats, 300 are elected from single-member constituencies and the other 180 are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a system of proportional representation. The House of Representatives has preeminence over the House of Councillors and can pass a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet as a whole. The House of Representatives can be dissolved by the Prime Minister or by a Cabinet no confidence vote. The next election is due in December 2016.

The upper house in the Japanese political system is the Sangi-in or House of Councillors. It has 242 seats and members serve a six-year term. Only half of its membership is re-elected at each election every three years, using a parallel voting system. Of the 121 members subject to election each time, 73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts by the single transferable vote method and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation. This element of proportional representation was introduced in 1982 in an effort to combat the effect of huge sums of money being spent on election campaigns. The House of Councillors cannot be dissolved. The next election is due in July 2013.

If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, designation of the Prime Minister, the House of Representatives can insist on its decision. In all other decisions (such as the passage of a Bill), the House of Representatives can override a vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. The Chief Justice is appointed by the Emperor following selection by the Cabinet. Fourteen other judges are selected and appointed by the Cabinet.

Every 10 years, a justice's tenure has to be confirmed by referendum. In practice, the justices are almost always reselected and are allowed to serve until the age of 70.

Historically the Supreme Court has played a low-key role, As a result, individual members of the Court are virtually unknown to the general public.

Since the late 19th century, the Japanese judicial system has been largely based on European civil law, notably that of France and Germany.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Traditionally the Japanese political system has been dominated by one party in a manner unknown in the democracies of Europe and North America. That party is the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In the election of December 2012, it stormed back to power with 294 seats in the House of Representatives.

The other main party is the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). It was formed in 1998 from a merger of four previously independent parties that were opposed to the ruling LDP. It is still the largest party in the House of Councillors (480 seats).

Another party, the Japan Restoration Party, was only formed three months before the last election to the House of Representatives in December 2012 but managed to win 54 seats - more than the previous governing party, the DPJ.

Another important party is New Kōmeitō which traditionally allies itself with the Liberal Democratic Party. In the December 2012 election, it won 31 seats. This means that the LDP and New Kōmeitō combined command 325 votes in the lower house which gives them a “supermajority” in the 480-seat lower house of parliament.

Public funding of political parties was introduced in 1994.

Turnout in elections is low, especially among young voters.

CONCLUSION

The Japanese political system is very different from those of the western democracies, although the institutions may initially look similar.

The Kokkai or Diet has little real authority; traditionally the factions within the Liberal Democratic Party have been more important than the other political parties; Cabinet meetings are brief and largely ceremonial; and the Prime Minister is weaker than his counterpart in other democracies and usually has a relatively brief tenure in office. Power in Japanese society is wielded less by politicians and more by civil servants and industrialists. This triumvirate of politicians, bureaucrats and big business is known in Japan as "the Iron Triangle".

Some observers felt that the general election of August 2009, which resulted in a Democratic Party government, had fundamentally changed things, but the return of the Liberal Democratic Party in December 2012 brings the Japanese political system back to its historic norm. In fact, the power of the established civil service bureacracy and the deep economic problems facing the nation mean that in practice the changes in policy will not be as major as the election result might suggest.

Meanwhile there are some moves in Japan for the constitution to be revised so that it becomes 'a normal country' able to maintain and deploy military forces. Many in Japan are keen for its economic power to be reflected now in the political structures of the United Nations with the country admitted to permanent membership of the Security Council.