GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT |
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Although Japan has an Emperor, the government is a democracy. The Emperor holds ceremonial and traditional importance such as appointing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court but is no longer actively involved in running the government.
There are three main arms of government. These are an Executive Branch which is headed by a Prime Minister, a Legislative Branch which is known as the Diet {Kokkai in Japanese} and a Judiciary.
The Executive Branch is headed by a Prime Minister as the Head of State and his Cabinet Ministers. The Prime Minister is selected by majority vote in each house of the Diet, not by popular vote. So the Prime Minister is usually a member of the political party with the largest contingent in the Diet. If the two houses do not agree on this issue, the will of the lower house (House of Representative) becomes the "will of the Diet".
The Legislative Branch, known as the Diet, is patterned after the British Parliament and has two groups or chambers. The upper house, known as the House of Councillors {Sangiin} and the lower house called the House of Representatives {Shugiin). All members of the Diet are elected by popular vote within the area of the country that they represent. This body is the sole law making institution in the country.
Currently, there are 512 members of the Diet and they serve terms of four years. The three major functions of the Diet are to designate the Prime Minister, formulate the country's budget and enter into international treaties. In most situations where the two chambers disagree, the will of the lower house will prevail.
The judicial system is the third main arm of the government. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the land. It's Chief Justice is designated by the cabinet and appointed by the Emporor. The other 14 justices are directly appointed by the cabinet. The Supreme Court handles appellate cases and has no original jurisdicion.
While the system of courts is similar to America's, there are some differences. For example. all courts in Japan are part of a single system. Lower courts throughout the country are administered by the Supreme Court and are not branches of local governments. Perhaps the most striking difference is the fact that cases are tried before a panel of judges and not before juries. A jury system does not exist.