Japan:%20Politics

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Japan Politics
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Outline

• Political institutions
• parliamentary system of government
• National Diet
• Prime Minister and Cabinet
• bureaucracy
• Judiciary
• Parties and elections

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National Diet

• House of Councillors (Upper House)
• House of Representatives (Lower House)
• choose prime minister
• pass budget
• ratify treaties

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Prime Minister Cabinet

• All are members of the Japanese National Diet
• Most are members of the House of Representatives

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Prime Minister

• Shinzo Abe (born in 1954)
• Prime Minister since December 2012
• Liberal Democratic Party
• familys political and economic power
• father was Foreign Minister 1982-1986
• won fathers seat in the House
• of Representatives in 1993

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LDP

• All Prime Ministers of Japan
• from 1954 to 1993
• from 1996 to 2009
• were from LDP

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The Bureaucracy

• Heavy involvement in policymaking
• draft legislation (short and vague laws)
• implementing or enforcing legislation
• Recruit the best of college graduates
• Prime Ministers come and go, but we are
  forever
• - A Japanese bureaucrat

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Local government

• Unitary rather than federal system
• local authority delegated by central governmt.
• 47 prefectures
• governors and legislatures
• hundreds of municipalities
• mayors and city councils
• 2/3 of all government spending
• 1/3 of all tax revenues

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Party Systems before '92

• Combination of multiparty system with sustained
  dominance of 1 majority party
• Chaotic political party system 1946-55
• 2 conservative parties, 2 socialist parties,
  communist party, plus micro-parties
• Party merges in 1955
• One-and-a-Half Party System

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Party System 1955 - 1992
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Major Political Parties

• Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
• conservative catch-all party
• Japan Socialist Party (JSP)
• Japan Peace Party
• Japan Communist Party (JCP)
• anti-emperor, anti-capitalism, anti-military
• only party untainted by money politics

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National Vote Share
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Pre-1994 Electoral Rules
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Industrial contributions
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The Iron Triangle
bureaucrats
big business executives
LDP politicians
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Political Earthquake of '93-'95

• Economic stagnation since late 1980s
• Major corruption scandals of LDP leaders
• 2.5 billion yen contribution from a company
• 1 billion yen income tax evasion
• LDP Diet members split and some left to form new
  parties
• LDP coalition cabinets since 1996

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New Electoral Rules (1996)

• 480 members in House of Representatives
• 300 elected from single-member districts
• 180 elected from 11 proportional representation
  districts
• 252 members in House of Councillors
• 100 elected from proportional representation
  district
• 152 elected from 47 prefecture constituencies

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Party Realignment (90s)
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Public support for parties
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Japans International Role

• Yoshida Doctrine (pre-1980s)
• political-economic cooperation with U.S.
• small national defense expenditure
• security guaranteed by U.S. (military bases)
• Low-profile foreign policy
• Trade policy
• Economic superpower (1980s)