Politics of Japan 日本の政治 (Japanese) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Polity type | Unitary[1]parliamentary constitutional monarchy[2] |
| Constitution | Constitution of Japan |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | National Diet |
| Type | Bicameral |
| 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 |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
| Head of government | |
| Title | Prime Minister |
| Currently | Shigeru Ishiba |
| Appointer | Emperor (Nominated by National Diet) |
| Cabinet | |
| Name | Cabinet of Japan |
| Current cabinet | Second Ishiba Cabinet |
| Leader | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | Prime Minister |
| Headquarters | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office of Japan) |
| Judicial branch | |
| Name | Judiciary |
| Supreme Court | |
| Chief judge | Yukihiko Imasaki, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court |
| Seat | Supreme Court Building |
Thepolitics ofJapan are conducted in a framework of adominant-partybicameralparliamentaryrepresentative democraticconstitutional monarchy. Ahereditary monarch, currentlyEmperorNaruhito, serves ashead of state while thePrime Minister of Japan, currentlyShigeru Ishiba since2024, serves as theelectedhead of government.
Legislative power is vested in theNational Diet, which consists of theHouse of Representatives and theHouse of Councillors. The House of Representatives has eighteen standing committees ranging in size from 20 to 50 members and The House of Councillors has sixteen ranging from 10 to 45 members.[3]
Executive power is vested in theCabinet, which is led by the Prime Minister who is nominated by National Diet and appointed by the Emperor. ALiberal Democratic–Komeitocoalitionminority government has held office since2024.
Judicial power is vested in theSupreme Court and lower courts, andsovereignty is vested in the people of Japan by the1947 Constitution, which was written during theOccupation of Japan primarily by American officials and had replaced the previousMeiji Constitution.Japan is considered a constitutional monarchy with a system ofcivil law.
The Japanese politics in thepost-war period has largely been dominated by the rulingLiberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power almost continuously since its foundation in 1955, a phenomenon known as the1955 System. Of the 32 prime ministers since the end of the country'soccupation in 1952, 25 as well as the longest serving ones have been members of the LDP.[4] Consequently, Japan has been described as ade factoone-party state.[5] The LDP lost its parliamentary majority in2024, but continues to lead the country as part of aminority government.[6]
The current constitution was approved by Japan in 1947, this document aimed to address the weaknesses of the previous Meiji Constitution and lay the foundation for a vibrant democracy in Japan. Its key features include:
The creation andratification of this current document has been widely viewed by many geopolitical analysts and historians as one thatwas forced upon Japan by the United States after theend of World War II.[8]
Although this "imposition" claim arose originally as a rallying cry among conservative politicians in favour of constitutional revision in the 1950s, and that it wasn't "inherently Japanese", it has also been supported by the research of several independent American and Japanese historians of the period.[8][9]
A competing claim, which also emerged from the political maelstrom of the 1950s revision debate, holds that the ratification decision was actually the result of apparent "collaboration" between American occupation authorities, successive Japanese governments of the time, and private sector "actors".[10]
Article 1 of theConstitution of Japan (日本国憲法,Nihon-koku kenpō) defines theEmperor (天皇,Tennō)[11] to be "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people". He performs ceremonial duties and holds no real power. Political power is held mainly by thePrime Minister,Cabinet, and other elected members of theNational Diet. TheImperial Throne is succeeded by a paternal male member of theImperial House as designated by theImperial Household Law.
The chief of the executive branch and head of government, thePrime Minister (内閣総理大臣,Naikaku Sōri-Daijin), isappointed by the Emperor as directed by the National Diet. The prime minister in Japan is the head of the cabinet, has the power to appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers, and can dissolve the lower house of the Diet. While formally limited in powers, the prime minister possesses informal powers such as party support, popularity, and influence over the bureaucracy. Individual leadership can significantly impact the policymaking process, especially following recent cabinet reforms that enhanced the prime minister's influence. TheCabinet (内閣,Naikaku) members are nominated by the Prime Minister, and are also required to be civilian. The country has had aLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)–Komeito coalition government, and it has been convention that thePresident of the LDP serves as the Prime Minister since2012.
Japanese constitution states that theNational Diet (国会,Kokkai), its law-making institution, shall consist of two Houses, namely theHouse of Representatives (衆議院,Shūgiin) and theHouse of Councillors (参議院,Sangiin). The Diet shall be the highest organ of state power, and shall be the sole law-making organ of theState. It states that both Houses shall consist of elected members, representative of all the people and that the number of the members of each House shall be fixed by law. Both houses pass legislation in identical form for it to become law. Similarly to other parliamentary systems, most legislation that is considered in the National Diet is proposed by the cabinet. The cabinet then relies on the expertise of the bureaucracy to draft actual bills.
The lower house, theHouse of Representatives, the most powerful of the two, holds power over the government, being able to force its resignation. The lower house also has ultimate control of the passage of the budget, the ratification of treaties, and the selection of thePrime Minister. Its power over its sister house is, if a bill is passed by the lower house (the House of Representatives) but is voted down by the upper house (the House of Councillors), the ability to override the decision of theHouse of Councillors. Members of the lower house, as a result of the Prime Minister's power to dissolve them, more frequently serve for less than four years in any given terms.
The upper house, the House of Councillors, is very weak and bills are sent to the House of Councillors only to be approved, not made. Members of the upper house are elected for six-year terms with half the members elected every three years.
It is possible for different parties to control the lower house and the upper house, a situation referred to as a "twisted Diet", something that has become more common since theJSP took control of the upper house in 1989.
Severalpolitical parties exist in Japan. However, the politics of Japan have primarily been dominated by theLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1955, with theDemocratic Party of Japan (DPJ) playing an important role as the opposition several times. The DPJ was the ruling party from 2009 to 2012 with the LDP as the opposition. The LDP was the ruling party for decades since 1955, despite the existence of multiple parties. Most of the prime ministers (presidents of the LDP) were elected from inner factions of the LDP.
 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | National | Constituency | Seats | |||||||||
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Won | Not up | Total after | +/– | |||
| Liberal Democratic Party | 18,256,245 | 34.43 | 18 | 20,603,298 | 38.74 | 45 | 63 | 56 | 119 | +6 | ||
| Japan Innovation Party | 7,845,995 | 14.80 | 8 | 5,533,657 | 10.41 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 21 | +5 | ||
| Constitutional Democratic Party | 6,771,914 | 12.77 | 7 | 8,154,330 | 15.33 | 10 | 17 | 22 | 39 | +7 | ||
| Komeito | 6,181,432 | 11.66 | 6 | 3,600,490 | 6.77 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 27 | –1 | ||
| Japanese Communist Party | 3,618,343 | 6.82 | 3 | 3,636,534 | 6.84 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | –2 | ||
| Democratic Party For the People | 3,159,657 | 5.96 | 3 | 2,038,655 | 3.83 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | New | ||
| Reiwa Shinsengumi | 2,319,157 | 4.37 | 2 | 989,716 | 1.86 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +3 | ||
| Sanseitō | 1,768,385 | 3.33 | 1 | 2,018,215 | 3.80 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | New | ||
| Social Democratic Party | 1,258,502 | 2.37 | 1 | 178,911 | 0.34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 | ||
| NHK Party | 1,253,872 | 2.36 | 1 | 1,106,508 | 2.08 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | ||
| Burdock Party [ja] | 193,724 | 0.37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Happiness Realization Party | 148,020 | 0.28 | 0 | 134,718 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Japan First Party | 109,046 | 0.21 | 0 | 74,097 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Kunimori Conservative Party | 77,861 | 0.15 | 0 | 111,956 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Ishin Seito Shimpu | 65,107 | 0.12 | 0 | 204,102 | 0.38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| First no Kai | 284,629 | 0.54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Children's Party | 50,662 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Japan Reform Party | 46,641 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Kyowa Party | 41,014 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Free Republican Party | 33,636 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Metaverse Party | 19,100 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Party to Realize Bright Japan with a Female Emperor | 10,268 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Smile Party | 5,409 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Party to Know the Truth of Renewable Energy | 3,868 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Peace Party | 3,559 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Tenmei Party | 3,283 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Party to take over U.S. military base in Okinawa to Tokyo | 3,043 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Wake Up the Japanese Party | 2,440 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Nuclear Fusion Party | 1,913 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||||
| Independents | 4,285,360 | 8.06 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 12 | –5 | |||||
| Total | 53,027,260 | 100.00 | 50 | 53,180,012 | 100.00 | 75 | 125 | 123 | 248 | 0 | ||
| Valid votes | 53,027,260 | 97.02 | 53,180,012 | 97.29 | ||||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,626,202 | 2.98 | 1,479,020 | 2.71 | ||||||||
| Total votes | 54,653,462 | 100.00 | 54,659,032 | 100.00 | ||||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 105,019,203 | 52.04 | 105,019,203 | 52.05 | ||||||||
| Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications | ||||||||||||
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Many polls had predicted a weakened LDP or even a complete loss of government control in the elections,[12] with one poll byThe Japan Times suggesting the party would lose around 40 seats. Though the LDP did lose 25 seats compared to the previous elections, they comfortably maintained their single-party majority in the Diet.[13][14]
The opposition coalition of CDP, JCP, SDP and Reiwa Shinsengumi failed to increase its seat share, suffering a net loss of thirteen seats compared to the outgoing parliament. The CDP itself remained the largest opposition party, finishing second with 96 seats; although this marked an increase on the 55 seats won by the original CDP in the 2017 elections, the party had held 109 seats going into the elections following the merger with theDemocratic Party For the People. The JCP lost two seats going from 12 to 10, the SDP kept its one constituency seat in Okinawa, and Reiwa Shinsengumi increased its seats from one prior to the election to three.
The Osaka-based Nippon Ishin no Kai saw a strong third-place finish with 41 seats, a net gain of 30. The party won all seats in Osaka prefecture, except for four where they did not stand a candidate. The party also finished first in the Kinki Proportional Block.[15]
 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Proportional | Constituency | Total seats | +/– | |||||
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| Liberal Democratic Party | 19,914,883 | 34.66 | 72 | 27,626,235 | 48.08 | 187 | 259 | –25 | |
| Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan | 11,492,095 | 20.00 | 39 | 17,215,621 | 29.96 | 57 | 96 | New | |
| Nippon Ishin no Kai | 8,050,830 | 14.01 | 25 | 4,802,793 | 8.36 | 16 | 41 | +30 | |
| Komeito | 7,114,282 | 12.38 | 23 | 872,931 | 1.52 | 9 | 32 | +3 | |
| Japanese Communist Party | 4,166,076 | 7.25 | 9 | 2,639,631 | 4.59 | 1 | 10 | –1 | |
| Democratic Party For the People | 2,593,396 | 4.51 | 5 | 1,246,812 | 2.17 | 6 | 11 | New | |
| Reiwa Shinsengumi | 2,215,648 | 3.86 | 3 | 248,280 | 0.43 | 0 | 3 | New | |
| Social Democratic Party | 1,018,588 | 1.77 | 0 | 313,193 | 0.55 | 1 | 1 | –1 | |
| NHK Party | 796,788 | 1.39 | 0 | 150,542 | 0.26 | 0 | 0 | New | |
| Shiji Seitō Nashi | 46,142 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Japan First Party | 33,661 | 0.06 | 0 | 9,449 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | New | |
| Yamato Party | 16,970 | 0.03 | 0 | 15,091 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | New | |
| New Party to Strengthen Corona Countermeasures by Change of Government | 6,620 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Kunimori Conservative Party | 29,306 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Love Earth Party | 5,350 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Nippon Spirits Party | 4,552 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Reform Future Party | 3,698 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Renewal Party | 2,750 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Party for a Successful Japan | 1,630 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Independents | 2,269,168 | 3.95 | 12 | 12 | –10 | ||||
| Total | 57,465,979 | 100.00 | 176 | 57,457,032 | 100.00 | 289 | 465 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 57,465,979 | 97.58 | 57,457,032 | 97.55 | |||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,425,366 | 2.42 | 1,443,227 | 2.45 | |||||
| Total votes | 58,891,345 | 100.00 | 58,900,259 | 100.00 | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 105,224,103 | 55.97 | 105,224,103 | 55.98 | |||||
| Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications | |||||||||
| Prefecture | Total seats | Seats won | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | CDP | Ishin | Komeito | DPP | JCP | SDP | Ind. | ||
| Aichi | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Akita | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Aomori | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| Chiba | 13 | 9 | 4 | ||||||
| Ehime | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| Fukui | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Fukuoka | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Fukushima | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Gifu | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| Gunma | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| Hiroshima | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Hokkaido | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| Hyōgo | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Ibaraki | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Ishikawa | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| Iwate | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Kagawa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Kagoshima | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Kanagawa | 18 | 11 | 7 | ||||||
| Kōchi | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Kumamoto | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Kyoto | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Mie | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Miyagi | 6 | 4 | 2 | ||||||
| Miyazaki | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Nagano | 5 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Nagasaki | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Nara | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Niigata | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Ōita | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Okayama | 5 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Okinawa | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Osaka | 19 | 15 | 4 | ||||||
| Saga | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Saitama | 15 | 12 | 3 | ||||||
| Shiga | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| Shimane | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Shizuoka | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Tochigi | 5 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Tokushima | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Tokyo | 25 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Tottori | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Toyama | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| Wakayama | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Yamagata | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| Yamaguchi | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| Yamanashi | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Total | 289 | 187 | 57 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| PR block | Total seats | Seats won | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | % | CDP | % | Ishin | % | Komeito | % | JCP | % | DPP | % | RS | % | ||
| Chūgoku | 11 | 6 | 43.4% | 2 | 18.4% | 1 | 9.2% | 2 | 14.0% | 0 | 5.5% | 0 | 3.7% | 0 | 3.0% |
| Hokkaido | 8 | 4 | 33.6% | 3 | 26.6% | 0 | 8.4% | 1 | 11.5% | 0 | 8.1% | 0 | 2.9% | 0 | 4.0% |
| Hokuriku–Shinetsu | 11 | 6 | 41.8% | 3 | 22.0% | 1 | 10.3% | 1 | 9.2% | 0 | 6.4% | 0 | 3.8% | 0 | 3.2% |
| Kinki (Kansai) | 28 | 8 | 25.7% | 3 | 11.6% | 10 | 33.9% | 3 | 12.3% | 2 | 7.8% | 1 | 3.2% | 1 | 3.1% |
| Kyushu | 20 | 8 | 35.7% | 4 | 20.1% | 2 | 8.6% | 4 | 16.5% | 1 | 5.8% | 1 | 4.4% | 0 | 3.9% |
| Northern Kanto | 19 | 7 | 35.2% | 5 | 22.5% | 2 | 10.0% | 3 | 13.3% | 1 | 7.2% | 1 | 4.8% | 0 | 3.9% |
| Shikoku | 6 | 3 | 39.2% | 1 | 17.2% | 1 | 10.2% | 1 | 13.7% | 0 | 6.4% | 0 | 7.2% | 0 | 3.1% |
| Southern Kanto | 22 | 9 | 34.9% | 5 | 22.3% | 3 | 11.7% | 2 | 11.5% | 1 | 7.2% | 1 | 5.2% | 1 | 4.1% |
| Tohoku | 13 | 6 | 39.5% | 4 | 24.1% | 1 | 6.3% | 1 | 11.1% | 1 | 7.1% | 0 | 4.8% | 0 | 3.5% |
| Tokai | 21 | 9 | 37.4% | 5 | 22.1% | 2 | 10.3% | 3 | 11.7% | 1 | 6.1% | 1 | 5.7% | 0 | 4.1% |
| Tokyo | 17 | 6 | 31.0% | 4 | 20.1% | 2 | 13.3% | 2 | 11.1% | 2 | 10.4% | 0 | 4.7% | 1 | 5.6% |
| Total | 176 | 72 | 39 | 25 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 3 | |||||||
| Prefecture | LDP | CDP | Innovation | Komeito | JCP | DPFP | Reiwa | SDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aichi | 35.9 | 22.4 | 11.0 | 11.3 | 6.4 | 5.7 | 4.4 | 1.3 |
| Akita | 45.4 | 21.1 | 5.6 | 10.8 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
| Aomori | 43.2 | 23.8 | 4.4 | 11.0 | 7.9 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
| Chiba | 35.5 | 22.1 | 11.2 | 12.4 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 1.4 |
| Ehime | 41.1 | 18.6 | 9.9 | 14.2 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 2.1 |
| Fukui | 45.9 | 20.9 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 |
| Fukuoka | 33.0 | 19.3 | 11.1 | 17.3 | 6.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 2.5 |
| Fukushima | 37.9 | 25.7 | 5.3 | 11.2 | 7.2 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| Gifu | 40.3 | 20.6 | 10.0 | 11.6 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 1.2 |
| Gunma | 38.4 | 20.2 | 9.3 | 14.3 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 1.9 |
| Hiroshima | 45.9 | 17.0 | 10.4 | 12.3 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| Hokkaido | 33.6 | 26.6 | 8.4 | 11.5 | 8.1 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 1.6 |
| Hyogo | 27.4 | 13.4 | 32.1 | 12.3 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 1.2 |
| Ibaraki | 38.1 | 20.2 | 9.9 | 14.1 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 3.7 | 1.3 |
| Ishikawa | 44.1 | 18.4 | 14.4 | 8.7 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| Iwate | 35.5 | 29.2 | 4.6 | 9.2 | 8.0 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 3.1 |
| Kagawa | 39.9 | 13.1 | 8.7 | 11.7 | 4.5 | 16.4 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
| Kagoshima | 41.3 | 20.7 | 7.7 | 14.3 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| Kanagawa | 34.2 | 22.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 7.4 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 1.9 |
| Kochi | 38.0 | 21.7 | 6.1 | 15.0 | 10.4 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| Kumamoto | 40.8 | 19.1 | 7.2 | 17.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| Kyoto | 29.2 | 13.7 | 23.0 | 9.8 | 13.2 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 1.1 |
| Mie | 36.3 | 25.0 | 9.1 | 13.8 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 1.2 |
| Miyagi | 37.4 | 22.9 | 10.0 | 11.4 | 7.3 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| Miyazaki | 38.9 | 17.2 | 9.1 | 16.2 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 3.5 |
| Nagano | 35.0 | 26.3 | 9.1 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 2.0 |
| Nagasaki | 37.1 | 19.7 | 7.2 | 15.7 | 4.8 | 8.7 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| Nara | 30.6 | 13.9 | 28.1 | 11.8 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 1.1 |
| Niigata | 43.9 | 24.2 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 6.1 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
| Oita | 36.5 | 22.4 | 7.6 | 14.1 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 5.3 |
| Okayama | 37.8 | 19.8 | 9.7 | 15.9 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 1.4 |
| Okinawa | 23.8 | 20.2 | 6.0 | 20.9 | 9.7 | 3.1 | 5.9 | 8.6 |
| Osaka | 20.4 | 9.0 | 42.5 | 13.4 | 7.6 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 1.0 |
| Saga | 41.4 | 25.8 | 6.1 | 12.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| Saitama | 32.5 | 23.6 | 10.2 | 13.3 | 8.4 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 1.6 |
| Shiga | 35.1 | 15.8 | 21.2 | 8.7 | 7.3 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 1.5 |
| Shimane | 42.5 | 22.0 | 7.4 | 12.7 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
| Shizuoka | 39.3 | 20.9 | 9.7 | 11.3 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 1.3 |
| Tochigi | 38.1 | 24.5 | 10.3 | 11.7 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Tokushima | 35.8 | 15.6 | 17.0 | 14.4 | 6.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 1.2 |
| Tokyo | 31.0 | 20.1 | 13.3 | 11.1 | 10.4 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 1.4 |
| Tottori | 36.5 | 23.7 | 7.9 | 16.5 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Toyama | 45.7 | 12.7 | 18.4 | 8.4 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.2 |
| Wakayama | 33.8 | 11.1 | 21.5 | 15.8 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 |
| Yamagata | 41.7 | 20.9 | 5.1 | 12.4 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 3.4 | 2.3 |
| Yamaguchi | 49.6 | 14.7 | 7.4 | 14.4 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 1.4 |
| Yamanashi | 39.7 | 24.8 | 6.0 | 11.7 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 1.5 |
| Japan | 34.7 | 20.0 | 14.1 | 12.4 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 1.8 |
Despite an increasingly unpredictable domestic and international environment, policy making conforms to well established postwar patterns. The close collaboration of the ruling party, theelite bureaucracy and important interest groups often make it difficult to tell who exactly is responsible for specific policy decisions.
After a largely informal process within elite circles in which ideas were discussed and developed, steps might be taken to institute more formal policy development. This process often took place in deliberation councils (shingikai). There were about 200shingikai, each attached to a ministry; their members were both officials and prominent private individuals in business, education, and other fields. Theshingikai played a large role in facilitating communication among those who ordinarily might not meet.
Given the tendency for real negotiations in Japan to be conducted privately (in thenemawashi, or root binding, process of consensus building), theshingikai often represented a fairly advanced stage in policy formulation in which relatively minor differences could be thrashed out and the resulting decisions couched in language acceptable to all. These bodies were legally established but had no authority to oblige governments to adopt their recommendations. The most important deliberation council during the 1980s was the Provisional Commission for Administrative Reform, established in March 1981 by Prime MinisterSuzuki Zenko. The commission had nine members, assisted in their deliberations by six advisers, twenty-one "expert members," and around fifty "councillors" representing a wide range of groups. Its head,Keidanren presidentDoko Toshio, insisted that the government agree to take its recommendations seriously and commit itself to reforming the administrative structure and the tax system.
In 1982, the commission had arrived at several recommendations that by the end of the decade had been actualized. These implementations included tax reform, a policy to limit government growth, the establishment in 1984 of the Management and Coordination Agency to replace the Administrative Management Agency in the Office of the Prime Minister, and privatization of thestate-owned railroad and telephone systems. In April 1990, another deliberation council, the Election Systems Research Council, submitted proposals that included the establishment of single-seat constituencies in place of the multiple-seat system.
Another significant policy-making institution in the early 1990s was theLiberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council. It consisted of a number of committees, composed of LDP Diet members, with the committees corresponding to the different executive agencies. Committee members worked closely with their official counterparts, advancing the requests of their constituents, in one of the most effective means through which interest groups could state their case to the bureaucracy through the channel of the ruling party.
Political parties had begun to revive almost immediately after theAllied occupation began because ofsurrender of Japan inWorld War II.Left-wing organizations, such as theJapan Socialist Party and theJapanese Communist Party, quickly reestablished themselves, as did variousconservative parties. The oldRikken Seiyūkai andRikken Minseitō came back as, the Liberal Party (Nihon Jiyūtō) and theJapan Progressive Party (Nihon Shimpotō) respectively. Thefirst postwar general election was held in 1946 (women were given the franchise for the first time in 1946), and the Liberal Party's vice president,Yoshida Shigeru (1878–1967), became prime minister.
For the1947 general election, anti-Yoshida forces left the Liberal Party and joined forces with the Progressive Party to establish the newDemocratic Party (Minshutō). This divisiveness in conservative ranks gave a plurality to the Japan Socialist Party, which was allowed to form a cabinet, which lasted less than a year. Thereafter, the socialist party steadily declined in its electoral successes. After a short period of Democratic Party administration, Yoshida returned in late 1948 and continued to serve as prime minister until 1954.
Even before Japan regained full sovereignty, the government had rehabilitated nearly 80,000 people who had been purged, many of whom returned to their former political and government positions. A debate over limitations onmilitary spending and thesovereignty of the Emperor ensued, contributing to the great reduction in the Liberal Party's majority in thefirst post-occupation elections (October 1952). After several reorganizations of the armed forces, in 1954 theJapan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) were established under a civilian director.Cold War realities and the hotwar in nearbyKorea also contributed significantly to theUnited States-influencedeconomic redevelopment, the suppression ofcommunism, and the discouragement oforganized labor in Japan during this period.
Continual fragmentation of parties and a succession ofminority governments led conservative forces to merge the Liberal Party (Jiyūtō) with the Japan Democratic Party (Nihon Minshutō), an offshoot of the earlier Democratic Party, to form theLiberal Democratic Party (Jiyū-Minshutō; LDP) in November 1955, called1955 System. This party continuously held power from 1955 through 1993, except for a short while when it was replaced by a new minority government. LDP leadership was drawn from the elite who had seen Japan through the defeat and occupation. It attracted former bureaucrats, local politicians, businessmen, journalists, other professionals, farmers, and university graduates.
In October 1955, socialist groups reunited under theJapan Socialist Party (JSP), which emerged as the second most powerful political force. It was followed closely in popularity by theKomeito, founded in 1964 as the political arm of theSoka Gakkai (Value Creation Society), until 1991, a lay organization affiliated with theNichiren Shōshū Buddhist sect. The Komeito emphasized the traditional Japanese beliefs and attracted urban laborers, former rural residents, and women. Like theJapan Socialist Party, it favored the gradual modification and dissolution of theJapan-United States Mutual Security Assistance Pact.
The LDP domination lasted until the National DietLower House general election on 18 July 1993, in which LDP failed to win amajority. Acoalition of new parties and existing opposition parties formed a governing majority and elected a new non-LDP prime minister,Morihiro Hosokawa (leader ofJapan New Party), in August 1993. His government's major legislative objective was political reform, consisting of a package of new political financing restrictions and major changes in theelectoral system. The coalition succeeded in passing landmark political reform legislation in January 1994.
In April 1994, Prime Minister Hosokawa resigned. Prime MinisterTsutomu Hata (leader ofJapan Renewal Party) formed the successor coalition government, Japan's first minority government in almost 40 years. Prime Minister Hata resigned less than two months later. Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama (leader of JSP) formed the next government in June 1994 with the coalition of JSP, the LDP, and the smallNew Party Sakigake. The advent of a coalition containing the JSP and LDP shocked many observers because of their previously fierce rivalry.
Prime Minister Murayama served from June 1994 to January 1996. He was succeeded by Prime MinisterRyutaro Hashimoto (president of the LDP), who served from January 1996 to July 1998. Prime Minister Hashimoto headed a loose coalition of three parties until theJuly 1998 Upper House election, when the two smaller parties cut ties with the LDP. Hashimoto resigned due to a poor electoral performance by the LDP in the Upper House elections. He was succeeded as party president of the LDP and prime minister byKeizō Obuchi, who took office on 30 July 1998. The LDP formed a governing coalition with theLiberal Party in January 1999, and Obuchi remained prime minister. The LDP-Liberal coalition expanded to include the New Komeito Party in October 1999.
Prime Minister Obuchi suffered a stroke in April 2000 and was replaced byYoshirō Mori. After the Liberal Party left the coalition in April 2000, Prime Minister Mori welcomed a Liberal Party splinter group, theNew Conservative Party, into the ruling coalition. The three-party coalition made up of the LDP, New Komeito, and the New Conservative Party maintained its majority in the Diet following the June 2000 Lower House elections.
After a turbulent year in office in which he saw his approval ratings plummet to the single digits, Prime Minister Mori agreed to hold early elections for the LDP presidency in order to improve his party's chances in crucialJuly 2001 Upper House elections. On 24 April 2001, riding a wave of grassroots desire for change, maverick politicianJunichiro Koizumi defeated former prime minister Hashimoto and other party stalwarts on a platform of economic and political reform.
Koizumi was elected as Japan's 56th Prime Minister on 26 April 2001. On 11 October 2003, Prime Minister Koizumi dissolved thelower house and he was re-elected as the president of the LDP. Likewise, that year, the LDP won thegeneral election, even though it suffered setbacks from the new opposition party, theliberal andsocial-democraticDemocratic Party (DPJ). A similar event occurred during the2004 Upper House election as well.
On 8 August 2005, Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi called for asnap general election to the lower house, as threatened, after LDP stalwarts and opposition DPJ parliamentarians defeated his proposal for a large-scale reform and privatization ofJapan Post, which besides being Japan's state-owned postal monopoly is arguably the world's largest financial institution, with nearly 331 trillion yen of assets. The election was scheduled for 11 September 2005, with the LDP achieving a landslide victory underJunichiro Koizumi's leadership.
The ruling LDP started losing hold in 2006. No prime minister except Koizumi had good public support. On 26 September 2006, the new LDP PresidentShinzo Abe was elected by a special session of the National Diet to succeedJunichiro Koizumi as the next prime minister. He was Japan's youngest post-World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. On 12 September 2007, Abe surprised Japan by announcing his resignation from office. He was replaced byYasuo Fukuda, a veteran of LDP.
In the meantime, on 4 November 2007, the leader of the main opposition party,Ichirō Ozawa announced his resignation from the post of party president, after controversy over an offer to the DPJ to join the ruling coalition in agrand coalition,[16] but has since, with some embarrassment, rescinded his resignation.
On 11 January 2008, Prime MinisterYasuo Fukuda forced a bill allowing ships to continue a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of US-led operations in Afghanistan. To do so, PM Fukuda used the LDP's overwhelming majority in the Lower House to ignore a previous "no-vote" of the opposition-controlled Upper House. This was the first time in 50 years that the Lower House voted to ignore the opinion of the Upper House. Fukuda resigned suddenly on 1 September 2008, just a few weeks after reshuffling his cabinet. On 1 September 2008, Fukuda's resignation was designed so that the LDP did not suffer a "power vacuum". It thus caused a leadership election within the LDP, and the winner,Tarō Asō (Shigeru Yoshida's grandson) was chosen as the new LDP president on 24 September 2008, he was appointed as the 92nd Prime Minister after the House of Representatives voted in his favor in the extraordinary session of the National Diet.[17]
Later, on 21 July 2009, Prime Minister Asō dissolved the House of Representatives andgeneral election was held on 30 August.[18]The election results for the House of Representatives were announced on 30 and 31 August 2009. The opposition party DPJ led byYukio Hatoyama (Ichirō Hatoyama's grandson), won a majority by gaining 308 seats (10 seats were won by its allies the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party). On 16 September 2009, the leader of DPJ, Hatoyama was elected by theHouse of Representatives as the 93rdPrime Minister of Japan.
On 2 June 2010, Hatoyama resigned due to lack of fulfillments of his policies, both domestically and internationally[19] and soon after, on 8 June,Akihito, Emperor of Japan ceremonially swore in thenewly elected DPJ's leader,Naoto Kan as the 94th prime minister.[20] Kan suffered an early setback in the2010 Japanese House of Councillors election. In a routine political change in Japan, DPJ's new leader and formerfinance minister of Kan Cabinet,Yoshihiko Noda was cleared and elected by the National Diet as 95th prime minister on 30 August 2011. He was officially appointed as prime minister in the attestation ceremony by Emperor Akihito at theTokyo Imperial Palace on 2 September 2011.[21]
Noda dissolved the lower house on 16 November 2012 (as he failed to get support outside the Diet on various domestic issues i.e.consumption tax,nuclear energy) andgeneral election was held on 16 December. The results were in favor of the LDP, which won an absolute majority in the leadership of former prime ministerShinzo Abe.[22] He was appointed as the 96th Prime Minister of Japan on 26 December 2012.[23] With the changing political situation, earlier in November 2014, Prime Minister Abe called for a fresh mandate for the Lower House. In an opinion poll the government failed to win public trust due to bad economic achievements in the two consecutive quarters and on the tax reforms.[24]
Thegeneral election was held on 14 December 2014, and the results were in favor of the LDP and its ally New Komeito. Together they managed to secure a huge majority by winning 325 seats for the Lower House. The opposition, DPJ, could not manage to provide alternatives to the voters with its policies and programs. "Abenomics", the ambitious self-titled fiscal policy of the current prime minister, managed to attract more voters in this election, many Japanese voters supported the policies. Shinzō Abe was sworn as the 97th prime minister on 24 December 2014 and would go ahead with his agenda of economic revitalization and structural reforms in Japan.[24]
Prime Minister Abe was elected again for a fourth term after the2017 general election.[25] It was a snap election called by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.[26] Abe's ruling coalition won a clear majority with more than two-thirds of 465 seats in the lower house of Parliament (House of Representatives). The opposition was in deep political crisis.[27]
In July 2019, Japan had anational election. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Abe won a majority of seats in the upper house of Parliament (House of Councillors). However, Abe failed to achieve the two-thirds majority, and the ruling coalition could not amend the constitution.[28]
Contemporary issues such as economic challenges, demographic shifts, and environmental concerns play a significant role in shaping political discourse, highlighting the interplay between these social issues and political responses. Ultimately, the potential for overcoming anxiety over governance is a critical theme, suggesting that increased political participation and engagement could lead to more effective governance and a reduction in public anxiety, all of which contribute to the complex and dynamic nature of Japanese politics.[29]
On 28 August 2020 following reports of ill-health, Abe resigned citing health concerns, triggering aleadership election to replace him as prime minister.[30] Abe was the longest-serving Prime Minister in the political history of Japan.[31]
After winning the leadership of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),Chief Cabinet SecretaryYoshihide Suga, a close ally of his predecessor, was elected as the 99th prime minister of Japan on 16 September 2020.[32] On 2 September 2021, Suga announced that he would not seekreelection as LDP President, effectively ending his term as prime minister.[33] On 4 October 2021,Fumio Kishida took office as new prime minister. Kishida was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) previous week. He was officially confirmed as the 100th prime minister following a parliamentary vote with appointment by Emperor Naruhito at Tokyo Imperial Palace.[34] On 31 October 2021, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held onto its single party majority in thegeneral election.[35][36]
On 8 July 2022,former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed at a campaign rally inNara for the2022 Japanese House of Councillors election.[37] State funeral of Abe was held on 27 September atNippon Budokan.[29]
TheEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) rated Japan a "full democracy" its report for 2023. According to theV-Dem Democracy indices, Japan was the 23rd most electoral democratic country in the world as of 2023.[38]
On 1 October 2024, Japan’s parliament confirmedShigeru Ishiba, new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as the new prime minister to replace Fumio Kishida.[7]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Japan: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.| Sovereign states |
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