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SEPARATION
OF POWERS
The
constitution of Japan, which came into effect in
1947, is based on the principles of popular
sovereignty, respect for fundamental human
rights, and the advocacy of peace. Japan's
political system is one of constitutional
democracy. In accordance with the
principle of "separation of powers,"
the activities of the national government are
formally divided into legislative, judicial, and
executive organs.
The
Emperor is "the symbol of the State and
unity of the people." The Emperor
appoints the Prime Minister and Chief Judge of
the Supreme Court as designated by the Diets,
and performs "only such acts in matters of
state" as provided for in the Constitution
along with the advice and approval of the
Cabinet, such as promulgation of amendments of
the constitution, laws, cabinet orders and
treaties, convocation of the Diets, dissolution
of the House of Representatives, and so forth.
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The
Constitution of Japan proclaims a system of
representative democracy in which the Diet is
"the highest organ of state power."
It is formally specified that the Diet, as the
core of Japan's system of governance, takes
precedence over the government's executive
branch. The designation of the Prime
Minister, who heads the executive branch, is
done by resolution of the Diet. Japan
practices a system of parliamentary Cabinet by
which the Prime Minister appoints the majority
of the Cabinet members from among members of the
Diet. The Cabinet thus works in solidarity
with the Diet and is responsible to it. In
this respect, the system is similar to that of
Great Britain, but different from that of the
United States, where the three branches of
government are theoretically on a level of
perfect equality.
The
Diet is divided into two chambers: The lower
chamber, or the House of Representatives, and
the upper chamber, or the House of Councillors.
The House of Representatives may introduce
"no confidence motions" with respect
to the Cabinet. The Cabinet, on the other
hand, is able to dissolve the House of
Representatives. It also has the authority
to designate the Chief Judge and appoint the
other judges of the Supreme Court. It is
the Supreme Court that determines the
constitutionality of any law of official act.
The constitution authorizes the Diet to
"set up an impeachment court from among the
members of both Houses in order to try any
judges against whom removal proceedings have
been instituted."
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THE
EMPEROR
Under
the Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the
symbol of the state, but he has no powers
related to government. He performs only
those acts that are stipulated in the
Constitution.
Emperor
Akihoto was born in Tokyo on December 23, 1933,
the first son of Emperor Hirohito and Empress
Nagako. Then Crown Prince Akihito married
Michiko Shoda, the eldest daughter of the
president of a major flour manufacturing
company, in April 1959. He acceded to the
throne on January 7, 1989, upon the death of his
father, the late Emperor Hirohito (posthumously
named Emperor Showa), who was the longest
reigning and longest-living emperor in Japanese
history. He passed away at the age of 87
after reigning for 62 years. Emperor
Akihito is noted for his taxonomic studies of
fish. He has published a number of
academic papers on gobiid fish and is coauthor
of a 1987 book on Japan's freshwater fish
species.
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Emperor
Akihito and Empress Michiko have three children:
Crown Prince Naruhito, born on February 23,
1960; Prince Fumihito, born on November 30,
1965; and Princess Sayako, brown on April 18,
1969. Crown Prince Naruhito studied at
Oxford University in England from 1983-1985, and
Prince Fumihito did likewise from 1988 to 1990.
In June 1993, Crown Prince Naruhito married
Masako Owada, the eldest daughter of an
administrative vice-minister for foreign affairs
and herself a member of the diplomatic corps
until the engagement was announced. Prince
Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima in June 1990,
upon which he received the family name Akishino.
A daughter, Princess Mako, was born in October
1991; a second daughter, Princess Kako, was born
in December 1994.
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POLITICAL
PARTIES
The
first political party to emerge in Japan was the
Aikoku Koto (Public Party of the Patriots),
formed in 1874 under the leadership of Taisuke
Itagaki. The party presented a written
petition
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