S.

S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar Law University

2021-2022

SUBJECT - “ Political Science“

PROJECT ON

A study on the Japanese Executive

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr.Lehar Isarani Prateek Rajpurohit

Assistant Professor Semester IV

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 DECLARATION

I Prateek Rajpurohit do here by declare that, this research project titled “A study on the
Japanese Executive” is an outcome of the research conduct by me under the guidance of
Dr.Lehar Isarani Asst. Prof. at S.S Jain Subodh Law College in fulfilment for the award of
the degree of B.A LL.B at the. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Law University. I also declare that
this work is original, except where assistance from other sources has been taken and
necessary acknowledgements for the same have been made at appropriate places.

(Prateek Rajpurohit)

B.A LL.B Sem IV

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Prateek Rajpurohit student of S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE
Affliated to Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Law University, Jaipur has completced his project on “
A study on the Japanese Executive ” under the supervision and guidance of supervisor
Dr.Lehar Isarani To best of my knowledge the report is original and not been copied or
submitted anywhere else. It is an independent work done by him.

Dr.Lehar Isarani

Assistant Professor

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

When I embarked this project, it appeared to, as an onerous task. Slowly as I progressed,

I did realized that I was not alone after all.

I wish to express my gratitude to DR. ALPANA SHARMA, director, S.S. JAIN SUBODH
LAW COLLEGE FACULTY MEMBER, & Program coordinator who have extended their
kind help, guidance but also for the freedom she rendered me during this project work.

I’m deeply indebted to my guide Dr.Lehar Isarani for not only her valuable and
enlightened, guidance but also for the freedom she rendered me during this project work.

I’m thankful to my group member and other classmates, well-wishers who with their
magnanimous and generous help and support made it a relative easier affair. My heart goes
cut to my parents who bear with me all the trouble I caused them with smile during the entire
study period and beyond.

Prateek Rajpurohit

Student signature

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 CONTENTS

1. Introduction...……………..………………………………………….. 06

2. Fundamental Structure of the Government of Japan...…….…..…..….. 07

3. The Executive Branch of Government.….……………………..…...…. 10

4. Japan’s Prime Minister …...……………………………….……………12

5. The Cabinet………………………………………….…………….……14

6. Bibliography ……………………………………………………………15

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 INTRODUCTION1

As in many parliamentary democratic governments, the prime minister of Japan is the central
political figure who runs the government. The basic institutional setting is, like that of the
United Kingdom, a parliamentary cabinet system. The Japanese prime minister is elected by
the members of an elected parliament, the Diet, and forms the cabinet which holds executive
power. Collectively, the cabinet is responsible to the parliament. The House of Representatives,
or Lower House, has the power to remove the prime minister by a vote of no-confidence.
Similarly, the prime minister can dissolve the House of Representatives if they wish. The
Japanese prime minister’s institutional power is stronger than that seen in continental European
countries, such as Germany, France and Italy where the prime minister shares authority with a
president.

Dunleavy and Rhodes introduce five different models of core executives which vary in terms
of power balance between the prime minister and the cabinet, or the core executive’s control
over government. The first model is that of ‘prime ministerial government’ in which the
premier as an individual exercise’s strong authority in the decision-making process. Of course,
no single individual can impose leadership on the complex core executive of a large
government. Accordingly, the model allows ‘prime ministerial cliques’ to include collective
attributes of the premier’s inner group of advisers and assistants in the core executive. The
second model is that of ‘cabinet government’. Instead of the prime minister alone, this model
emphasises the authority of the cabinet as a collective body in decision-making processes.
‘Ministerial government’, the third model introduced by Dunleavy and Rhodes, highlights the
roles of individual ministers in making policies for their relevant ministries. The fourth is the
‘segmented decision model’ which suggests that the question of who holds decision-making
authority depends on the policy issues at hand. In this model, the prime minister and the cabinet
operate in different policy areas at the interdepartmental level, while ministers operate below.
Finally, the fifth model is that of ‘bureaucratic coordination’, according to which the core
executive has very limited control over the ministries and where it is bureaucrats who play
instrumental roles in the policy-making process. In other words, it is not core executive actors,
but rather bureaucrats who are dominant

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Japan#Executive

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 Fundamental Structure of the Government of Japan2

Emperor:

The Emperor is the symbol of Japan and of the unity of the people, performs the following
acts in matters of state, with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, such as the promulgation
of amendments of the Constitution, laws, cabinet orders and treaties, the convocation of the
Diet, the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the proclamation of general election of
members of the Diet, the attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State
and other officials as provided by laws, and of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors
and Ministers, the awarding of honours, the attestation of instruments of ratification and other
diplomatic documents as provided by laws, receiving foreign Ambassadors and Ministers and
the performance of ceremonial functions, while he has no powers related to government.

He also appoints the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated
by the Diet and the Cabinet respectively.

In this respect, the position of the emperor in post-war Japan differs from that in pre-war days
when the emperor was the source of sovereign power.

The Imperial Throne is dynastic and succeeded from father to son.

Diet:

The National Diet, composed of two houses - the House of Representatives and the House of
Councillors, is the highest organ of state power and the sole law-making organ of the State.

The House of Representatives is composed of 480 members, of whom 300 are elected from
the single-seat constituencies and 180 by the proportional representation system in which the
nation is divided into 11 electoral blocs which according to size return between 6 and 30
members. Their term of office is 4 years, but shall be terminated, before the full term is up, if
the House is dissolved.

2
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/fundamental_e.html

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The total membership of the House of Councillors is 242, of whom 96 are elected by the
proportional representation system from a single nationwide electoral district and 146 from
47 prefectural constituencies, each returning 2 to 8 members. Their term of office is 6 years,
and a half of the members being elected every 3 years.

Both Houses have the same power with some exceptional cases in which the decision of the
House of Representatives precedes that of the House of Councillors.

The Diet begins its 150 days ordinary session from January each year, which may be
extended only once by the Diet. The Cabinet may determine to convoke extraordinary
sessions whenever necessary.

Cabinet:

Executive power is vested in the Cabinet, which consists of the Prime Minister and not more
than 17 Ministers of State (including Ministers without portfolio and the Chief Cabinet
Secretary) and is collectively responsible to the Diet. The Cabinet has to resign en masse
when the post of Prime Minister becomes vacant or when the first session of the Diet is
convoked after a general election of members of the House of Representatives. If the House
of Representatives passes a non-confidence resolution or rejects a confidence resolution the
Cabinet shall resign en masse, unless the House of Representatives is dissolved within ten
days.

Prime Minister, who is designated from among the members of the Diet by a resolution of the
Diet and appointed by the emperor, must be a civilian.

Prime Minister appoints the Ministers of States and may dismiss them as he chooses. The
Prime Minister, representing the Cabinet, submits bills to the Diet, reports to the Diet on
general national affairs and foreign relations, and exercises control and supervision over
various administrative branches.

The Cabinet has the Cabinet Office and 11 Ministries, which are established by the respective
Establishment Laws and are enumerated in the National Government Organization Law, as

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well as the Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Legislation Bureau, National Personnel Authority,
Security Council of Japan, and other Cabinet organs.

There is the Board of Audit which is a constitutionally independent organization to audit the
final accounts of the State and other public corporations and agencies.

Judiciary:

The whole judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as High
Courts, District Courts, Family Courts, and Summary Courts.

No extraordinary court can be established, nor can any organ of the Executive have final
judicial power.

The Justices of the Supreme Court, except the Chief Justice who is appointed by the emperor,
are appointed by the Cabinet. The Judges of inferior courts are also appointed by the Cabinet
but only from a list of persons nominated by the Supreme Court.

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 The Executive Branch of Government

The cabinet, the majority of whose members must come from the Diet, is the supreme decision-
making organ of the executive branch of government. The prime minister, who heads the
cabinet, has the right to appoint and dismiss ministers of state (kokumi doujin) who make up
the cabinet. He or she presides over cabinet meetings and may exercise his or her right to
control and guide the various sectors of the state administrative apparatus. So-called cabinet
resolutions are reached on the basis of unanimity of views. The prime minister and all members
of the cabinet must be, according to the constitution, civilians. The constitution also states,
“executive power shall be vested in the Cabinet.” However, the cabinet has under its control
and coordination a number of ministries and other central administrative organs to which it
delegates the exercise and control of many routine tasks of Japan’s central government.

As part of reform efforts that were aimed at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of
government operations, in January 2001 the executive branch of the government underwent an
extensive reorganization in which the number of existing ministries and ministry-level
commissions and agencies, 22 at that time, was cut almost in half. In addition to the Cabinet
Office which was newly created in 2001, the cabinet includes 13 ministries (as of 2019),
including the Ministry of Defence, to which the Defence Agency shifted in January 2007, and
the Reconstruction Agency (created in 2012). As of 2017, each ministry is headed by a minister
of state appointed by the prime minister. Each minister is assisted by one to three state ministers
and up to three parliamentary vice ministers. These officials are usually members of the Diet.

The Cabinet Office was created by the 2001 reorganization in order to strengthen cabinet
functions and the prime minister’s overall policy leadership capability. Headed by the prime
minister, the Cabinet Office drafts plans and provides comprehensive coordination from a level
one step above other government ministries and agencies. The Cabinet Office oversees the
Imperial Household Agency and five external bureaus: Fair Trade Commission, National
Public Safety Commission, Personal Information Protection Commission, Financial Services
Agency and Consumer Affairs Agency. In addition to the ministers of state for special
missions, the Cabinet Office also includes the following five important policy councils:
Council for Science and Technology and Innovation, Central Disaster Management Council,

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Council for Gender Equality, Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, and Council on National
Strategic Special Zones

Taken together, the Cabinet Office, the ministries, and the various agencies and commissions
are known as the central government offices (chuo shocho). As of 2016, Japan’s central
government offices operate according to a system based on a pyramidal structure of rank.
Responsibility for setting the boundaries of authority of the posts within each ministry and
agency rests in the hands of the cabinet members.

the cabinet members. In Japan, persons who are engaged in administrative activities in the
various central government offices, including vice ministers (jimu jikan) and all ordinary
public servants of lesser rank, are selected on the basis of national public service examinations;
their jobs are not political appointments nor are they subject to being lost as a result of political
power changes at the cabinet level.

After the reorganization of the government ministries, the privatization of Japan National
Railways, and the more recent privatization of the postal service in 2007, the number of
national public servants stood at about 585,000 in 2019. At the end of January 2001, before the
ministries were reorganized, there were 1.13 million public servants.

The constitution specifies that “all public officials are servants of the whole community and
not of any group thereof.”3

3
https://japanhpn.org/en/government/

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 Japan’s Prime Minister4

The prime minister is nominated by both houses of the Diet, before the conduct of any other
business. For that purpose, each conducts a ballot under the run-off system. If the two houses
choose different individuals, then a joint committee of both houses is appointed to agree on a
common nominee. Ultimately, however, if the two houses do not agree within ten days, the
decision of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of the Diet. Therefore, the House
of Representatives can theoretically ensure the appointment of any prime minister it wants.[13]
The nominee is then presented with his or her commission, and formally appointed to office
by the emperor.

Conventionally, the prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the
House of Representatives, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. But
there have been three cabinet prime ministers from junior coalition partners (Ashida 1948,
Hosokawa 1993, Murayama 1994), a few minority governments (most recently the Hata
Cabinet in 1994 and at least numerically the Second Hashimoto Cabinet of 1996 during its first
year, but with an extra-cabinet cooperation (閣外協力, kakugai kyōryoku) agreement with two
parties, sufficient to ensure safe majorities for most government initiatives), and several
cabinets with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without legislative majority of
their own (most recently the DPJ-led cabinets after the 2010 election; cf. Nejire
Kokkai/"twisted Diets").

Qualifications:

1. Must be a member of either house of the Diet. (This implies a minimum age of 25 and
a Japanese nationality requirement.)

2. Must be a civilian. This excludes serving members of the Japan Self-Defence Forces.
Former military persons may be appointed, with Yasuhiro Nakasone being one
prominent example.

4
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1950_govt.htm

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Constitutional roles of Prime Minister:5

• Exercises "control and supervision" over the entire executive branch.

• Presents bills to the Diet on behalf of the Cabinet.

• Signs laws and Cabinet orders (along with other members of the Cabinet).

• Appoints all Cabinet ministers and can dismiss them at any time.

• May permit legal action to be taken against Cabinet ministers.

• Must make reports on domestic and foreign relations to the Diet.

• Must report to the Diet upon demand to provide answers or explanations.

• May advise the emperor to dissolve the Diet's House of Representatives.

5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Japan

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 The Cabinet

Executive power in Japan lies in the Cabinet. Executive power is the government branch
concerned with the governance of the whole country. Led by the prime minister, the Cabinet
is formed with not more than 17 ministers of state. On a more specific note, the Cabinet is
tasked with good governance of the state, managing international affairs and fostering foreign
relations, preparing the budget to be presented to the National Diet, and other duties.

In another perspective, the prime minister who leads the Cabinet can be seen as one of the
representatives of the nation, more so when dealing with international matters. This can be
observed in the many times that the prime minister personally meets different world leaders
for different political and economic agendas.

The prime minister represents the Cabinet in submitting bills, as well as arranging reports on
the current national affairs and state of foreign relations to the National Diet. The summary of
responsibilities and functions of both the Cabinet and the prime minister may seem like a
shortlist, but in reality, it is a massive cog in the machine that is known as the government.

Vested with both power and responsibility, Japanese prime ministers are expected to steer the
nation in the right direction with great diligence and care. Though some details may have
changed with the passing of eras, the prime minister is undoubtedly one of the most influential
positions any individual may have in Japan, as well as the apex of one's political career.
However, how one is remembered depends on how hard one worked for the good of the nation
above oneself, something the public keeps a critical eye on at all times in office. 6

6
https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/40699/chapter-abstract/348427332?redirectedFrom=fulltext

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Smith, Robert J. (1974). Ancestor worship in contemporary Japan ([Repr.]. ed.).

Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.

2. Martin, Bernd (2006). Japan and Germany in the modern world (1. paperback
ed.). New York [u.a.]: Berghahn Books

3. "Government Directory". Tokyo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office, Cabinet

Secretariat.

4. Skya, Walter A. (2009). Japan's holy war the ideology of radical Shintō
ultranationalism. Durham: Duke University Press.

5. Lebra, Takie Sugiyama (1992). Japanese social organization (1 ed.). Honolulu:

University of Hawaii Press

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