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Contemporary World Politics: Japan

Country’s Government [Form and Structure]

Japan's government is a constitutional monarchy where the Emperor is the Head of State and the imperial family.
His position does not influence the activities of the government in any way. The government has three branches, the
executive, legislature, and the judiciary.

[The Executive Branch] The Prime Minister is the head of both the executive branch and the Cabinet, serves for a term
of four years. He is responsible for controlling and supervising the activities of the executive branch and is also the head
of Japan's self-defense forces. He presents the bill to the legislature, signs laws and can declare a state of emergency

[The Legislative Branch] The legislative branch is the National Diet. Its functions include drafting laws, approving the
national budget, approving conclusion of treaties, and selecting the Prime Minister.
[Judiciary of Japan] The judicial branch of the Japanese Government consists of the Supreme Court, the high courts,
district courts, family courts, and summary courts. It is independent of the legislature and the executive branches

Status of Economy
Japan is ranked 8th among 43 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is above the regional and
world averages. “Abenomics” has contributed to a mild economic recovery that, if maintained until 2020, will be Japan’s
longest period of economic recovery since the 1980s. The revitalization agenda combines bold monetary and flexible
fiscal policies as well as structural reforms. Trade liberalization is also a goal, but it has been overshadowed by rising
tensions in global commerce. Japan has one of the world’s heaviest government debt burdens. Political stability and a
well-maintained rule of law strengthen its economic freedom.

International trade contributes significantly to the Japanese economy, with exports equivalent to approximately 16
per cent of GDP. Key exports include vehicles, machinery and manufactured goods Exports from Japan declined 3.8
percent from a year earlier to JPY 7.02 trillion, worse than market consensus of a 1.9 percent drop and after a 0.1 percent
rise in November while imports to Japan rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier to JPY 7.08 trillion in December 2018,
missing market expectations of a 3.7 percent growth and far slower than a 12.5 percent increase in November Despite a
weaker yen as a result of stimulatory economic initiatives, export growth remains sluggish. Japan has few natural
resources and its agricultural sector remains heavily protected. Japan’s main imports include mineral fuels, machinery and
food.

Issues and Problems

For most of the last 30 years since Japan's bubble economy peaked in 1989, the Japanese economy has struggled with
deflation, the stagnation or decline in the prices of assets and many goods.

[Massive debt pile] Japan is the world's most heavily indebted rich country, with government debt more than twice as big
as the national economy. The government needs to raise money to pay down this debt, but it also needs more cash to
spend on social care for its already aging population.

[Labor pains] Japan's unemployment rate is enviably low compared with those of some other major developed
economies like France. But not all is well below the surface. Wage growth is anemic, which discourages everyday
Japanese people from spending. Stagnating or falling prices are generally viewed as bad news for an economy.
Consumers put off purchases while companies

[Japan Incorporated’s woes] The country has been plagued by a series of huge corporate scandals in the past few
years. Just this month, industrial giant Kobe Steel admitted it faked data on products sold to big customers like Toyota
(TM) and Boeing (BA), and Nissan (NSANF) said it's halting production of cars for the Japanese market because of
flawed safety inspections.

[Low birth rate] The fact of the matter: the elderly population is on the rise, and people are not having enough children to
keep the population balanced and steady.

[Overwork] The fact of the matter: So many people suffer health consequences from their unreasonably long work hours
that there’s even a word for death by overwork: karoshi (過労死).

[Women’s (in) equality] The fact of the matter: From the workplace to the home and everywhere in between, women are
further from having equal footing with men than they are in other developed nations.

Conflict
[US vs Japan] The relationship between the world’s two greatest economic powers is in serious trouble. With a
frightening momentum economic disputes between Japan and the United States are growing into a political conflict
because Japan and the United States so menacing is that the two countries do not know how to cope with each other.
The United States does not understand the nature of the Japanese political economy and thus cannot accept the
way it behaves, as simply another member of the community of democratic nations committed to the free market. Japan is
largely unaware of the threat posed by America’s unwillingness to accept it for what it is. Japan does not believe in the
powers of the American legislature. The Japanese make things worse with ritualistic arguments and empty promises that
only convince congressmen, businessmen and other Americans that they are being deceived.

[Value-Added Tax] Consumer spending has struggled recently, in part, due to the 2014 increase in Japan's value-added
tax (VAT), from 5 to 8 percent. Japan's national debt is enormous as a percentage of gross domestic products (GDP), at
nearly 250 percent, and the government needs to raise revenue where it can. The VAT was scheduled to increase further
in 2017 to 10 percent, but that increase was postponed until October 2019 as consumers struggled mightily with the
original 2014 increase.

[The Value of the Japanese Yen] From 2012 to 2016, the value of the yen against the U.S. dollar declined approximately
30 percent, which was a boon for corporate profits. Japanese manufacturing competes primarily with Korean, Taiwanese
and Chinese companies, and the value of the yen is a significant factor in the price competitiveness of those products.

Abenomics has already delivered some meaningful reforms in order to solve every problem and issues that facing
the country itself and some of them are implementing several pro-growth reforms. The U.S.-Japan Alliance was
strengthened in 2015 through the release of the revised U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines, which provide for new and
expanded forms of security-oriented cooperation. Japan provides bases as well as financial and material support to U.S.
forward-deployed forces, which are essential for maintaining stability in the region

Membership in International Organizations

Japan’s official participation in international organizations means its membership in various international
organizations, its roles and status therein, its participation in the policymaking of the organizations, and implementation by
Japan of the policies and decisions laid down by them. Japan and the United States belong to a number of the same
international organizations, including the United Nations, G7, G-20, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, ASEAN Regional Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World
Trade Organization. Japan is also a Partner for Cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and
an observer to the Organization of American States. In 2019, Japan will assume the G-20 presidency and host numerous
ministerial meetings as well as the G-20 Leaders’ Summit in Japan.