Japan!

s Government

1he olltlcul urtles of 'uun und the henomenon thut hus occurred between them ls
one of the muln thlngs thut seurute 'uun's government from lts slmllur lnfluences,
8rlttuln und Amerlcu. 1hls unlqueness, thut only 'uun hus reully exerlenced, ls the
fuct thut 'uun's olltlcul system hus been domlnuted by one urty. 1hls urty ls the
Llberul Lemocrutlc Purty (LPL). Aslde from u short erlod ln zcc when the other
muln urty tltled the Lemocrutlc Purty of 'uun (LP') wus vlctorlous ln the electlon,
the LPL hus been ln ower ut ull tlmes. 1hls hus greutly effected how 'uun's
government ls shued, und us long us they remuln the urty ln control there ls llttle
chunce of lt chunglng.
Political Parties:
Background
Final thoughts:
Although lt muy look
slmllur, 'uun's olltlcul
system ls very dlfferent
from Amerlcu or 8rltuln.
Currently, slgnlflcunt
moves huve been mude
to try und revlse the
constltutlon, but wlth
olltlcul urtles wuntlng
dlfferent chunges, llttle
rogress hus been
mude.
'uun's current governmentul system ls
fulrly new when comured to Amerlcu
und 8rltuln, who huve hud thelr olltlcul
system for centurles. 'uun's resent
constltutlon wus creuted ufter thelr
defeut ln the Second vorld vur ln
,. lt ls u very thorough und rlgld
document thut hus hud llttle to no
ulterutlons ufter lt wus offlclully wrltten
u. 8efore thelr defeut ln the Second
vorld vur, 'uun's government wus
mulnly bused on the ldeu thut the
Lmeror wus dlvlne und thut
everythlng he suld wus luw. Now, 'uun
ls u constltutlonul monurchy slmllur to
8rltuln. 1he current Lmeror ls Aklhlto
(lcture on the rlght), who hus been so
slnce 8. 1he Lmeror ls stlll u tltle
thut ls lnherlted through herltuge und
the lmerlul lumlly ls consldered to be
descendunts of Amuterusu und other
slrlts.
The Parl iament:
'uun's flgureheud, the Lmeror, ls
deflned by the constltutlon us "the
symbol of the stute und the unlty of
the eole,' but hls owers ure very
llmlted. 1he Prlme Mlnlster, currently
Shlnzo Abe (lcture on the left), cun
serve u term of yeurs. Ee ulso ls
uble to select the members of hls
Cublnet.
The Execut ive Branch:
lnown us the lokkul or Llet, lt ls
mude u of the Shuglln or Eouse
of Reresentutlves wlth 8c seuts,
und the Sunglln or Eouse of
Councllors wlth zz seuts. lt
decldes to creute luws by mujorlty
vote und, ln some cuses, by u zj
mujorlty.
The Legi sl at ive Branch:
1he judlclul 8runch or, 1he Sureme
Court, ls the most owerful ln the
lund. 1he chlef 'ustlce ls uolnted
by the Lmeror und other judges
ure ulso selected. 1hese seuts huve
to be refllled every c yeurs, but
normully the sume members ure
reselcted tlll they ure ubout ,c
yeurs old.
The Judi ci al Branch:
Current
Lmeror,
Aklhlto
Current
Prlme
Mlnlster
Shlnzo
Abe