Government and Politics of Japan

Government Type

constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government

Administrative Divisions

47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Legal System

modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Japan dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Executive Branch

chief of state: Emperor NARUHITO (since 1 May 2019); note: Emperor NARUHITO ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of his father, Emperor AKIHITO, who became the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in roughly 200 years head of government: Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru (since 1 October 2024) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that the prime minister command a parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary

Legislative Branch

bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs) elections: House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7; distribution of seats as of January 2006 - LDP 112, DPJ 83, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 8 : House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24; distribution of seats as of January 2006 - LDP 294, DPJ 112, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 27 (2006)

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) )

Political Parties

Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Seiji MAEHARA, president; Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, head of secretariat]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, chief representative; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Tsutomu TAKEBE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general]

Head of State

Emperor AKIHITO

Head of Government

Prime Minister Naoto Kan

Cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister

Elections

Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary

Constitution

Enacted May 3, 1947

Independence

660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)

National Holiday

Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)

International Organization Participation

AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic Representation in the U.S.

chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Anchorage, Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)

U.S. Diplomatic Representation

chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya

Capital City

Tokyo

Location

35 41 N, 139 45 E

Time Difference

UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

History

originally known as Edo, meaning "estuary" in Japanese, the name was changed to Tokyo, meaning "eastern capital," in 1868

U.S. Embassy in Tokyo 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 Japan Telephone: 81-3-3224-5000 Emergency after-hours telephone: 81-3-3224-5000 Facsimile: 81-3-3224-5856 U.S. Consulate General in Osaka-Kobe 2-11-5 Nishitenma, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-8543 Telephone: 81-6-6315-5900 Emergency after-hours telephone: 81-6-6315-5900 Facsimile: 81-6-6315-5914 U.S. Consulate General in Naha 2-1-1 Toyama, Urasoe, Okinawa 901-2104 Telephone: 81-98-876-4211 Emergency after-hours telephone: 81-3-3224-5000 (Emergency calls are routed through the Embassy switchboard after hours) Facsimile: 81-98-876-4243 U.S. Consulate General in Sapporo Kita 1-Jo Nishi 28-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0821 Telephone: 81-11-641-1115 Emergency after-hours telephone: 81-11-641-1115 Facsimile: 81-11-643-1283. U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka 2-5-26 Ohori, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0052 Telephone: 81-92-751-9331 Emergency after-hours telephone: 81-3-3224-5000 (Emergency calls are routed through the Embassy switchboard after hours) Facsimile: 81-92-713-9222 U.S. Consulate in Nagoya Nagoya International Center Bldg. 6th floor, 1-47-1 Nagono, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya 450-0001 Telephone: 81-52-581-4501 Emergency after-hours telephone: 81-52-581-4501 Facsimile: 81-52-581-3190.

Military Branches

Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jieitai, GSDF); Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jieitai, MSDF); Air Self-Defense Force (Koukuu Jieitai, ASDF)

Service Age and Obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; mandatory retirement at age 53 for senior enlisted personnel and at 62 years for senior service officers