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 | Hidehisa Otsuji, 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 | Fumio Kishida |
Appointer | Emperor (Nominated by National Diet) |
Cabinet | |
Name | Cabinet of Japan |
Current cabinet | Second Kishida Cabinet (Second Reshuffle) |
Leader | Prime Minister |
Appointer | Prime Minister |
Headquarters | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei |
Judicial branch | |
Name | Judiciary |
Supreme Court | |
Chief judge | Saburo Tokura |
Seat | Supreme Court Building |
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Politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary constitutional monarchy, in which the Emperor is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet, which directs the executive branch.
Legislative power is vested in the National Diet, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House 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]
Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts, and sovereignty is vested in the people of Japan by the 1947 Constitution, which was written during the Occupation of Japan primarily by American officials and had replaced the previous Meiji Constitution. Japan is considered a constitutional monarchy with a system of civil law.
Politics in Japan in the post-war period has largely been dominated by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power almost continuously since its foundation in 1955, a phenomenon known as the 1955 System. Of the 31 prime ministers since the end of the country's occupation, 24 as well as the longest serving ones have been members of the LDP.[4] Consequently, Japan has been described as a de facto one-party state.[5] The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Japan a "full democracy" its report for 2023. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, Japan was the 23rd most electoral democratic country in the world as of 2023.[6]