Government of Japan 日本国政府 | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} This government logo is widely used for English-language speakers | |
| Polity type | Unitaryparliamentaryconstitutional monarchy |
| Constitution | Constitution of Japan |
| Formation | 1867; 158 years ago (1867) |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | National Diet |
| Meeting place | National Diet Building |
| Upper house | |
| Name | House of Councillors |
| Presiding officer | Masakazu Sekiguchi,President of the House of Councillors |
| Lower house | |
| Name | House of Representatives |
| Presiding officer | Fukushiro Nukaga,Speaker of the House of Representatives |
| Executive branch | |
| Head of state | |
| Title | Emperor |
| Currently | Naruhito |
| Head of government | |
| Title | Prime Minister |
| Currently | Sanae Takaichi |
| Appointer | Emperor |
| Cabinet | |
| Name | Cabinet of Japan |
| Current cabinet | Takaichi Cabinet |
| Leader | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | Prime Minister |
| Headquarters | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office of Japan) |
| Judicial branch | |
| Supreme Court of Japan | |
| Seat | Chiyoda,Tokyo |
| Government of Japan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 日本国政府 | ||||
| Hiragana | にほんこくせいふ (formal) にっぽんこくせいふ (informal) | ||||
| |||||
TheGovernment of Japan is thecentral government ofJapan. It consists oflegislative,executive andjudiciary branches and functions under the framework established by theConstitution of Japan. Japan is aunitary state, containing forty-sevenadministrative divisions, with theemperor as itshead of state.[1] His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to the Government.[2] Instead, it is theCabinet, comprising theprime minister and theministers of state, that directs and controls the government and thecivil service. The Cabinet has theexecutive power and is formed by the prime minister, who is thehead of government.[3][4] The Prime Minister is nominated by theNational Diet andappointed to office by the Emperor.[5][6] The current cabinet is theTakaichi Cabinet, which is led by prime ministerSanae Takaichi, who assumed office on 21 October 2025. The country has had aLiberal Democraticminority government since 2025.
The National Diet is thelegislature, the organ of the Legislative branch. The Diet isbicameral, consisting of two houses with theHouse of Councilors being theupper house, and theHouse of Representatives being thelower house. The members of both houses of the Diet are directly elected by thepeople, who are the source ofsovereignty.[7] The Diet is defined as the supreme organ of sovereignty in the Constitution. TheSupreme Court and other lower courts make up the Judicial branch and have all the judicial powers in the state. The Supreme Court has ultimate judicial authority to interpret theconstitution and the power ofjudicial review. The judicial branch isindependent from the executive and the legislative branches.[8]Judges are nominated or appointed by the Cabinet and never removed by the executive or the legislature except duringimpeachment.
The Government of Japan is based in the capital ofTokyo, where theNational Diet Building, theImperial Palace, the Supreme Court, thePrime Minister's Office and the ministries are all located.
Before theMeiji Restoration, Japan was ruled by the government of successive militaryshōgun. During this period, effective power of the government resided in the Shōgun, who officially ruled the country in the name of the Emperor.[9] The Shōgun were the hereditary military governors, with their modern rank equivalent to ageneralissimo. Although the Emperor was the sovereign who appointed the Shōgun, his roles were ceremonial and he took no part in governing the country.[10] This is often compared to the present role of the Emperor, whose official role is to appoint the Prime Minister.[11]
The return of political power to the Emperor (to the Imperial Court) at the end of 1867 meant the resignation of ShōgunTokugawa Yoshinobu, agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" the Emperor's orders.[12][13] This event restored the country to Imperial rule and the proclamation of theEmpire of Japan. In 1889, theMeiji Constitution was adopted in a move to strengthen Japan to the level of western nations, resulting in the firstparliamentary system in Asia.[14] It provided a form of mixedconstitutional-absolute monarchy (asemi-constitutional monarchy), with an independent judiciary, based on thePrussian model of the time.[15]
A new aristocracy known as thekazoku was established. It merged the ancient court nobility of theHeian period, thekuge, and the formerdaimyō, feudal lords subordinate to theshōgun.[16] It also established theImperial Diet, consisting of theHouse of Representatives and theHouse of Peers. Members of the House of Peers were made up of theImperial Family, the Kazoku, and those nominated by the Emperor,[17] while members of the House of Representatives were elected by direct male suffrage.[18] Despite clear distinctions between powers of the executive branch and the Emperor in the Meiji Constitution, ambiguity and contradictions in the Constitution eventually led to apolitical crisis.[19] It also devalued the notion ofcivilian control over the military, which meant that the military could develop and exercise a great influence on politics.[20]
Following the end ofWorld War II, the presentConstitution of Japan was adopted. It replaced the previous Imperial rule with a form of Western-styleliberal democracy.[21]
As of 2020, the Japan Research Institute found the national government is mostly analog, because only 7.5% (4,000 of the 55,000) administrative procedures can be completed entirely online. The rate is 7.8% at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 8% at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and only 1.3% at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.[22]
On 12 February 2021,Tetsushi Sakamoto was appointed as the Minister of Loneliness to alleviate social isolation and loneliness across different age groups and genders.[23]
The emperor of Japan is the head of theImperial Family and the ceremonialhead of state. He is defined by theConstitution to be "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people".[7] However, his role is entirely ceremonial and representative in nature. As explicitly stated inarticle 4 of the Constitution, he has no powers related to government.[24]
Article 6 of theConstitution of Japan delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles:
While theCabinet is the source of executive power and most of its power is exercised directly by theprime minister, several of its powers are exercised through the Emperor. The powers exercised via the Emperor, as stipulated byArticle 7 of the Constitution, are:
These powers are exercised in accordance with the binding advice of the Cabinet.
The emperor is known to hold the nominal ceremonial authority. For example, he is the only person that has the authority to appoint theprime minister, even though theDiet has the power to designate the person fitted for the position. One such example can be prominently seen in the 2009 Dissolution of theHouse of Representatives. The House was expected to be dissolved on the advice of the prime minister, but was temporarily unable to do so for the next general election, as both the Emperor and Empress were visitingCanada.[25][26]
In this manner, theemperor's modern role is often compared to those of theShogunate period and much ofJapan's history, whereby the emperor held great symbolicauthority but had littlepolitical power; which is often held by others nominally appointed by the emperor himself. Today, a legacy has somewhat continued for a retired prime minister who still wields considerable power, to be called aShadow Shogun.[27]
Unlike hisEuropean counterparts, the emperor is not the source of sovereign power and the government does not act under his name. Instead, the emperor represents the state and appoints other high officials in the name of the state, in which theJapanese people hold sovereignty.[28]Article 5 of the Constitution, in accordance with theImperial Household Law, allows aregency to be established in the emperor's name, should the emperor be unable to perform his duties.[29]
On November 20, 1989, theSupreme Court ruled itdoesn't have judicial power over the emperor.[30]
TheImperial House of Japan is said to be the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world.[31] According to theKojiki andNihon Shoki, Japan was founded by the Imperial House in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu.[32] Emperor Jimmu was the first Emperor of Japan and the ancestor of all of the Emperors that followed.[33] He is, according toJapanese mythology, the direct descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess of the nativeShinto religion, throughNinigi, his great-grandfather.[34][35]
The current emperor of Japan isNaruhito. He was officiallyenthroned on May 1, 2019, following the abdication of his father.[36][37] He is styled as His Imperial Majesty, and his reign bears the era name of Reiwa.Fumihito is the heir presumptive to theChrysanthemum Throne.
The executive branch ofJapan is headed by theprime minister. The prime minister is the head of theCabinet, and is designated by the legislative organ, theNational Diet.[5] The Cabinet consists of theministers of state and may be appointed or dismissed by the prime minister at any time.[4] Explicitly defined to be the source of executivepower, it is in practice, however, mainly exercised by the prime minister. The practice of its powers is responsible to the Diet, and as a whole, should the Cabinet loseconfidence and support to be in office by the Diet, the Diet may dismiss the Cabineten masse with amotion of no confidence.[38]
Theprime minister of Japan (内閣総理大臣) is designated by theNational Diet and serves a term of four years or less; with no limits imposed on the number of terms the Prime Minister may hold. The prime minister heads the Cabinet and exercises "control and supervision" of the executive branch, and is thehead of government andcommander-in-chief of theJapan Self-Defense Forces.[39] The prime minister is vested with the power to presentbills to the Diet, to sign laws, to declare astate of emergency, and may also dissolve the Diet's House of Representatives at will.[40] The prime minister presides over the Cabinet and appoints, or dismisses, the other Cabinetministers.[4]
Both houses of the National Diet designates the prime minister with a ballot cast under therun-off system. Under the Constitution, should both houses not agree on a common candidate, then a joint committee is allowed to be established to agree on the matter; specifically within a period of ten days, exclusive of the period of recess.[41] However, if both houses still do not agree to each other, the decision made by theHouse of Representatives is deemed to be that of the National Diet.[41] Upon designation, the prime minister is presented with their letter of appointment, and then formallyinvested to office by theEmperor.[6]
As a candidate designated by the Diet, the prime minister is required to report to the Diet whenever demanded.[42] The prime minister must also be both acivilian and a member of either house of the Diet.[43]
| No. | Name (English) | Name (Japanese) | Gender | Took office | Left office | Term | Cabinets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Junichiro Koizumi | 小泉 純一郎 | Male | April 26, 2001 | September 26, 2006 | 5 years, 153 days | 87th:Koizumi I(R1)(R2) 88th:Koizumi II(R) 89th:Koizumi III(R) |
| 2 | Shinzo Abe | 安倍 晋三 | Male | September 26, 2006 | September 26, 2007 | 1 year, 0 days | 90th:S. Abe I(R) |
| 3 | Yasuo Fukuda | 福田 康夫 | Male | September 26, 2007 | September 24, 2008 | 364 days | 91st:Y. Fukuda(R) |
| 4 | Tarō Asō | 麻生 太郎 | Male | September 24, 2008 | September 16, 2009 | 357 days | 92nd:Asō |
| 5 | Yukio Hatoyama | 鳩山 由紀夫 | Male | September 16, 2009 | June 8, 2010 | 265 days | 93rd:Y. Hatoyama |
| 6 | Naoto Kan | 菅 直人 | Male | June 8, 2010 | September 2, 2011 | 1 year, 86 days | 94th:Kan(R1)(R2) |
| 7 | Yoshihiko Noda | 野田 佳彦 | Male | September 2, 2011 | December 26, 2012 | 1 year, 115 days | 95th:Noda(R1)(R2)(R3) |
| 8 | Shinzo Abe | 安倍 晋三 | Male | December 26, 2012 | September 16, 2020 | 7 years, 265 days | 96th:S. Abe II(R) 97th:S. Abe III(R1)(R2)(R3) 98th:S. Abe IV(R1) (R2) |
| 9 | Yoshihide Suga | 菅 義偉 | Male | September 16, 2020 | October 4, 2021 | 1 year, 18 days | 99th:Suga |
| 10 | Fumio Kishida | 岸田 文雄 | Male | October 4, 2021 | 1 October 2024 | 2 years, 363 days | 100th:Kishida I 101st:Kishida II |
| 11 | Shigeru Ishiba | 石破 茂 | Male | 1 October 2024 | 21 October 2025 | 1 year, 55 days | 102nd:Ishiba I 103rd:Ishiba II |
| 12 | Sanae Takaichi | 高市 早苗 | Female | 21 October 2025 | Present | 35 days | 104th:Takaichi |
TheCabinet of Japan (内閣) consists of theMinisters of State and the Prime Minister. The members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister, and under the Cabinet Law, the number of members of the Cabinet appointed, excluding the Prime Minister, must be fourteen or less, but may only be increased to nineteen should a special need arise.[44][45]Article 68 of the Constitution states that all members of the Cabinet must becivilians and the majority of them must be chosen from among the members of either house of theNational Diet.[46] The precise wording leaves an opportunity for the Prime Minister to appoint some non-elected Diet officials.[47] The Cabinet is required to resignen masse while still continuing its functions, till the appointment of a new Prime Minister, when the following situation arises:
Conceptually derivinglegitimacy from the Diet, whom it is responsible to, the Cabinet exercises its power in two different ways. In practice, much of its power is exercised by the Prime Minister, while others are exercised nominally by the Emperor.[3]
Article 73 of theConstitution of Japan expects the Cabinet to perform the following functions, in addition to general administration:
Under the Constitution, all laws and cabinet orders must be signed by the competent Minister and countersigned by the Prime Minister, before being formally promulgated by theEmperor. Also, all members of the Cabinet cannot be subject to legal action without the consent of the Prime Minister; however, without impairing the right to take legal action.[48]
As of 26 March 2025,[update] the makeup of the Cabinet:[49]
| Portfolio | Portrait | Minister | Took office | Left office | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinet ministers | |||||||
| Prime Minister | .jpg) | Shigeru Ishiba | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications |  | Seiichiro Murakami | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Justice |  | Keisuke Suzuki | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | First cabinet appointment | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | .jpg) | Takeshi Iwaya | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Finance Minister of State for Financial Services Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation | .jpg) | Katsunobu Katō | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | .jpg) | Toshiko Abe | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare | .jpg) | Takamaro Fukuoka | C | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | .jpg) | Taku Etō | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation |  | Yoji Muto | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister in charge of Water Cycle Policy Minister for the World Horticultural ExhibitionYokohama2027 |  | Hiromasa Nakano | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | First cabinet appointment | |
| Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness | .jpg) | Keiichiro Asao | C | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Defense |  | Gen Nakatani | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Chief Cabinet Secretary |  | Yoshimasa Hayashi | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister for Digital Transformation Minister in charge of Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reforms Minister in charge of Digital Garden City Nation Vision Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform Minister of State for Regulatory Reform | .jpg) | Masaaki Taira | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of Reconstruction Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from theNuclear Accident at Fukushima |  | Tadahiko Ito | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Chairman of theNational Public Safety Commission Minister in charge of Building National Resilience Minister in charge of Territorial Issues Minister of State for Disaster Management and Ocean Policy | .jpg) | Manabu Sakai | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of State for Policies Related to Children Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Youth's Empowerment Minister of State for Gender Equality Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment Minister in charge of Cohesive Society Minister in charge of Measures for Loneliness and Isolation |  | Junko Mihara | C | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Minister in charge of New Capitalism Minister in charge of Startups Minister in charge of Infectious Disease Crisis Management Minister in charge of Social Security Reform Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy | .jpg) | Ryosei Akazawa | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister in charge of Economic Security Minister of State for "Cool Japan" Strategy Minister of State for Intellectual Property Strategy Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy Minister of State for Space Policy Minister of State for Economic Security |  | Minoru Kiuchi | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
| Minister of State forOkinawa andNorthern Territories Affairs Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister of State for Regional Revitalization Minister of State forAinu-Related Policies Minister for theWorld Expo 2025 |  | Yoshitaka Itō | R | 11 November 2024 | Incumbent | ||
Theministries of Japan (中央省庁,Chuo shōcho) consist of eleven executive ministries and theCabinet Office. Each ministry is headed by aMinister of State, which are mainly senior legislators, and are appointed from among the members of the Cabinet by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet Office, formally headed by the Prime Minister, is an agency that handles the day-to-day affairs of the Cabinet. The ministries are the most influential part of the daily-exercised executive power, and since few ministers serve for more than a year or so necessary to grab hold of the organisation, most of its power lies within the seniorbureaucrats.[50]
Below is a series of ministry-affiliated government agencies and bureaus responsible for government procedures and activities as of 23 August 2022.[51]
The legislative branch organ ofJapan is theNational Diet (国会). It is a bicameral legislature, composing of a lower house, theHouse of Representatives, and an upper house, theHouse of Councillors. Empowered by theConstitution to be "the highest organ of State power" and the only "sole law-making organ of the State", its houses are both directly elected under aparallel voting system and is ensured by the Constitution to have no discrimination on the qualifications of each members; whether be it based on "race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income". The National Diet, therefore, reflects thesovereignty of the people; a principle ofpopular sovereignty whereby the supreme power lies within, in this case, theJapanese people.[7][52]
The Diet responsibilities includes the making of laws, the approval of the annual national budget, the approval of the conclusion of treaties and the selection of theprime minister. In addition, it has the power to initiate draft constitutional amendments, which, if approved, are to be presented to the people for ratification in areferendum before being promulgated by theEmperor, in the name of thepeople.[53] The Constitution also enables both houses to conduct investigations in relation to government, demand the presence and testimony of witnesses, and the production of records, as well as allowing either house of the Diet to demand the presence of the Prime Minister or the other Minister of State, in order to give answers or explanations whenever so required.[42] The Diet is also able toimpeach Court judges convicted of criminal or irregular conduct. The Constitution, however, does not specify the voting methods, the number of members of each house, and all other matters pertaining to the method of election of the each members, and are thus, allowed to be determined for by law.[54]
Under the provisions of theConstitution and by law, all adults aged over 18 are eligible to vote, with asecret ballot and auniversal suffrage, and those elected have certain protections from apprehension while the Diet is in session.[55] Speeches, debates, and votes cast in the Diet also enjoyparliamentary privileges. Each house is responsible for disciplining its own members, and all deliberations are public unless two-thirds or more of those members present passes a resolution agreeing it otherwise. The Diet also requires the presence of at least one-third of the membership of either house in order to constitute a quorum.[56] All decisions are decided by a majority of those present, unless otherwise stated by theConstitution, and in the case of a tie, the presiding officer has the right to decide the issue. A member cannot be expelled, however, unless a majority of two-thirds or more of those members present passes a resolution.[57]
Under theConstitution, at least one session of the Diet must be convened each year. TheCabinet can also, at will, convoke extraordinary sessions of the Diet and is required to, when a quarter or more of the total members of either house demands it.[58] During an election, only the House of Representatives is dissolved. The House of Councillors is however, not dissolved but only closed, and may, in times of national emergency, be convoked for an emergency session.[59] TheEmperor both convokes the Diet and dissolves the House of Representatives, but only does so on the advice of theCabinet.
For bills to become law, they are to be first passed by both houses of theNational Diet, signed by theMinisters of State, countersigned by theprime minister, and then finally promulgated by theEmperor; however, without specifically giving the Emperor the power to oppose legislation.
TheHouse of Representatives of Japan (衆議院) is theLower house, with the members of the house being elected once every four years, or when dissolved, for a four-year term.[60] As of November 18, 2017, it has 465 members. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system ofproportional representation, and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies. 233 seats are required for majority. The House of Representatives is the more powerful house out of the two, it is able to overridevetoes on bills imposed by theHouse of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. It can, however, be dissolved by theprime minister at will.[40] Members of the house must be ofJapanese nationality; those aged 18 years and older may vote, while those aged 25 years and older may run for office in the lower house.[55]
The legislative powers of theHouse of Representatives is considered to be more powerful than that of theHouse of Councillors. While the House of Councillors has the ability toveto most decisions made by the House of Representatives, some however, can only be delayed. This includes the legislation of treaties, the budget, and the selection of theprime minister. The Prime Minister, and collectively hisCabinet, can in turn, however, dissolve the House of Representatives whenever intended.[40] While the House of Representatives is considered to be officially dissolved upon the preparation of the document, the House is only formally dissolved by the dissolution ceremony.[61] The dissolution ceremony of the House is as follows:[62]
It is customary that, upon the dissolution of the House, members will shout theThree Cheers of Banzai (萬歲).[61][63]
TheHouse of Councillors of Japan (参議院) is theUpper house, with half the members of the house being elected once every three years, for a six-year term. As of November 18, 2017, it has 242 members. Of these, 73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts, bysingle non-transferable votes, and 48 are elected from a nationwide list byproportional representation withopen lists. The House of Councillors cannot be dissolved by theprime minister.[59] Members of the house must be ofJapanese nationality; those aged 18 years and older may vote, while those aged 30 years and older may run for office in the upper house.[55]
As the House of Councillors canveto a decision made by theHouse of Representatives, the House of Councillors can cause the House of Representatives to reconsider its decision. The House of Representatives however, can still insist on its decision by overriding theveto by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority of its members present. Each year, and when required, theNational Diet is convoked at the House of Councillors, on the advice of the Cabinet, for an extra or an ordinary session, by theEmperor. A short speech is, however, usually first made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives before the Emperor proceeds to convoke the Diet with hisSpeech from the throne.[64]
The judicial branch ofJapan consists of theSupreme Court, and four other lower courts; the High Courts, District Courts, Family Courts and Summary Courts.[65] Divided into four basic tiers, the Court's independence from the executive and legislative branches are guaranteed by theConstitution, and is stated as: "no extraordinary tribunal shall be established, nor shall any organ or agency of the Executive be given final judicial power"; a feature known as theSeparation of Powers.[8]Article 76 of the Constitution states that all the Court judges are independent in the exercise of their own conscience and that they are only bounded by theConstitution and the laws.[66] Court judges are removable only by publicimpeachment, and can only be removed, without impeachment, when they are judicially declared mentally or physically incompetent to perform their duties.[67] The Constitution also explicitly denies any power for executive organs or agencies to administer disciplinary actions against judges.[67] However, aSupreme Court judge may be dismissed by a majority in a referendum; of which, must occur during the first general election of theNational Diet'sHouse of Representatives following the judge's appointment, and also the first general election for every ten years lapse thereafter.[68] Trials must be conducted, with judgment declared, publicly, unless the Court "unanimously determines publicity to be dangerous to public order or morals"; with the exception for trials of political offenses, offenses involving the press, and cases wherein the rights of people as guaranteed by the Constitution, which cannot be deemed and conducted privately.[69] Court judges are appointed by theCabinet, in attestation of theEmperor, while theChief Justice isappointed by the Emperor, after being nominated by theCabinet; which in practice, known to be under the recommendation of the former Chief Justice.[70]
TheLegal system inJapan has been historically influenced byChinese law; developing independently during theEdo period through texts such asKujikata Osadamegaki.[71] It has, however, changed during theMeiji Restoration, and is now largely based on theEuropeancivil law; notably, thecivil code based on the German model still remains in effect.[72] Aquasi-jury system has recently came into use, and the legal system also includes a bill of rights since May 3, 1947.[73] The collection ofSix Codes makes up the main body of theJapanese statutory law.[72]
AllStatutory Laws inJapan are required to berubber stamped by the Emperor with thePrivy Seal of Japan (天皇御璽), and no Law can take effect without theCabinet's signature, theprime minister's countersignature and theEmperor's promulgation.[74][75][76][77][78]
TheSupreme Court of Japan (最高裁判所) is the court of last resort and has the power ofJudicial review; as defined by the Constitution to be "the court of last resort with power to determine the constitutionality of any law, order, regulation or official act".[79] The Supreme Court is also responsible for nominating judges to lower courts and determining judicial procedures. It also oversees the judicial system, overseeing activities of public prosecutors, and disciplining judges and other judicial personnel.[80]
TheHigh Courts of Japan (高等裁判所) has the jurisdiction to hear appeals to judgments rendered by District Courts and Family Courts, excluding cases under the jurisdiction of theSupreme Court. Criminal appeals are directly handled by the High Courts, but Civil cases are first handled by District Courts. There are eight High Courts in Japan: the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, and Takamatsu High Courts.[80]
Thepenal system of Japan (矯正施設) is operated by theMinistry of Justice. It is part of thecriminal justice system, and is intended toresocialize,reform, andrehabilitate offenders. The ministry's Correctional Bureau administers the adult prison system, thejuvenile correctional system, and three of the women's guidance homes,[81] while the Rehabilitation Bureau operates theprobation and theparole systems.[82]
The Cabinet Public Affairs Office's Government Directory also listed a number of government agencies that are more independent from executive ministries.[83] The list for these types of agencies can be seen below.
| Administrative divisions of Japan |
|---|
| Prefectural |
| Prefectures |
| Sub-prefectural |
| Municipal |
| Sub-municipal |
According to Article 92 of the Constitution, thelocal governments of Japan (地方公共団体) are local public entities whose body and functions are defined by law in accordance with the principle of local autonomy.[84][85] The main law that defines them is theLocal Autonomy Law.[86][87] They are given limited executive and legislative powers by the Constitution. Governors, mayors and members of assemblies are constitutionally elected by the residents.
TheMinistry of Internal Affairs and Communications intervenes significantly in local government, as do other ministries. This is done chiefly financially because many local government jobs need funding initiated by national ministries. This is dubbed as the "thirty-percent autonomy".[88]
The result of this power is a high level of organizational and policy standardization among the different local jurisdictions allowing them to preserve the uniqueness of theirprefecture, city, or town. Some of the more collectivist jurisdictions, such asTokyo andKyoto, have experimented with policies in such areas as social welfare that later were adopted by the national government.[88]
Japan is divided into forty-sevenadministrative divisions, theprefectures are: one metropolitan district (Tokyo), twourban prefectures (Kyoto andOsaka), forty-three rural prefectures, and one "district",Hokkaidō. Large cities are subdivided into wards, and further split into towns, or precincts, or subprefectures and counties.
Cities are self-governing units administered independently of the larger jurisdictions within which they are located. In order to attain city status, a jurisdiction must have at least 500,000 inhabitants, 60 percent of whom are engaged in urban occupations. There areself-governing towns outside the cities as well as precincts of urban wards. Like the cities, each has its own electedmayor and assembly. Villages are the smallest self-governing entities in rural areas. They often consist of a number of rural hamlets containing several thousand people connected to one another through the formally imposed framework of village administration. Villages have mayors and councils elected to four-year terms.[89][90]
Each jurisdiction has a chief executive, called a governor (知事,chiji) in prefectures and a mayor (市町村長,shichōsonchō) in municipalities. Most jurisdictions also have a unicameral assembly (議会,gikai), although towns and villages may opt for direct governance by citizens in a general assembly (総会,sōkai). Both the executive and assembly are elected by popular vote every four years.[91][92][93]
Local governments follow a modified version of theseparation of powers used in the national government. An assembly may pass avote of no confidence in the executive, in which case the executive must either dissolve the assembly within ten days or automatically lose their office. Following the next election, however, the executive remains in office unless the new assembly again passes a no confidence resolution.[86]
The primary methods of local lawmaking arelocal ordinance (条例,jōrei) and local regulations (規則,kisoku). Ordinances, similar to statutes in the national system, are passed by the assembly and may impose limited criminal penalties for violations (up to 2 years in prison and/or 1 million yen in fines). Regulations, similar to cabinet orders in the national system, are passed by the executive unilaterally, are superseded by any conflicting ordinances, and may only impose a fine of up to 50,000 yen.[89]
Local governments also generally have multiplecommittees such as school boards, public safety committees (responsible for overseeing thepolice), personnel committees, election committees and auditing committees.[94] These may be directly elected or chosen by the assembly, executive or both.[88]
Scholars have noted that political contestations at the local level tend not to be marked by strong party affiliation or political ideologies when compared to the national level. Moreover, in many local communities candidates from different parties tend to share similar concerns, e.g., regarding depopulation and how to attract new residents. Analyzing the political discourse among local politicians, Hijino suggests that local politics in depopulated areas is marked by two overarching ideas: "populationism" and "listenism." He writes, "“Populationism” assumes the necessity of maintaining and increasing the number of residents for the future and vitality of the municipality. “Listenism” assumes that no decision can be made unless all parties are consulted adequately, preventing majority decisions taken by elected officials over issues contested by residents. These two ideas, though not fully-fledged ideologies, are assumptions guiding the behavior of political actors in municipalities in Japan when dealing with depopulation."[95]
Allprefectures are required to maintain departments of general affairs, finance, welfare, health, and labor. Departments of agriculture, fisheries, forestry, commerce, and industry are optional, depending on local needs. The Governor is responsible for all activities supported throughlocal taxation or the national government.[88][92]
Governments of Asia | |
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| Sovereign states |
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| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |
