The Constitution of Japan provides
for a democratic, funda-mental separation of state powers. Legislative
power is vested in the Diet; executive power is vested in the
Cabinet; and all judicial power is vested in the Supreme
National Diet (Legislative Branch)
The Diet is the highest branch of state power and the sole legislative
branch of the state. The Diet is vested with such powers as
initiating constitutional revision, settling the budget, approving
treaties, and selecting a prime minister. Its powers clearly
outweigh those of the executive branch.
The Japanese parliament consists of the House of Representatives(*1)
(the lower house) and the House of Councillors(*2) (the upper
house). The members of the House of Representatives are elected
for a four-year term, but this term may be cut short if the
house is dissolved. The members of the House of Councillors
are elected for six-year terms, with half of the seats subject
to election every three years.
There are three types of Diet sessions: ordinary, extra-ordinary,
and special sessions. Ordinary sessions convene once a year
in January and last 150 days. The most important bill presented
at an ordinary session concerns the state budget for the next
fiscal year, starting in April.
The lower house has the right to prior deliberation on the budget
bill drafted and submitted to the Diet by the cabinet and can
also pass the bill, in the event the upper house rejects it,
after a certain period of time has elapsed. The vote of the
lower house also has precedence over that of the upper house
in electing a new prime minister and approving the conclusion
of treaties. The House of Representatives is empowered to pass
motions of non-confidence or confidence in the cabinet. This
is the most important power of the lower house in parliamentary
politics. The House of Councillors temporarily replaces the
House of Representatives in the execution of Diet functions
if and when the cabinet convenes an emergency session of the
House of Councillors while the House of Representatives is dissolved.
The speaker and vice-speaker—president and vice president
in the case of the upper house—have the duty of maintaining
order in the chamber and ordering the business of the day. To
ensure the impartiality of Diet proceedings, all four of them
customarily renounce their party affiliation.
The Cabinet (Executive Branch)
The cabinet consists of the prime minister and not more than
17 ministers of state and is collectively responsible to the
Diet. The prime minister, who must be a member of the Diet,
is designated by the Diet and, in practice, is always a member
of the House of the Representatives. The prime minister has
the power to appoint and dismiss the ministers of state, all
of whom must be civilians and majority of whom must be members
of the Diet. The cabinet must resign if the House of Representatives
passes a resolution of non-confidence or rejects a resolution
of confidence in the government, unless the house is dissolved
within 10 days of the passage of such a resolution. The cabinet
handles general administrative functions; in addition, its advice
and approval are required for all acts of the emperor. In such
cases, the cabinet assumes responsibility.
The national administration apparatus underwent a sweeping change
in January 2001 on the basis of a reform law enacted in 1999.
The former system of the Prime Minister's Office and 21 ministries
and agencies was reorganized into a system of the Cabinet Office(*3)
and 12 ministries and agencies.
The Supreme Court (Judicial Branch)
The Supreme Court is the court of final resort, and its ruling
sets the precedent for all final decisions in the administration
of justice. It is also authorized to determine the constitutionality
of any law, order, regulation, or official act and to nominate
judges of inferior courts. There are four types of court other
than the Supreme Court in Japan; high courts, district courts,
family courts, and summary courts. In addition to these, there
is a court of impeachment in the Diet to try judges whose dismissal
is sought.(*4)
The cabinet makes the final appointments from judges nominated
by the Supreme Court. The 15 justices of the Supreme Court are
subject to review by the people at the first House of Representatives
election following their appointment. A majority of votes against
a justice results in that justice's dismissal.
High courts are located in eight major cities around the country
(Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu,
and Fukuoka). There are 50 district courts and 50 family courts—4
in Hokkaido and 1 each in the other 46 prefectural seats. The
family courts handle civil cases involving domestic relations,
such as divorce, and juvenile delinquency cases. In Japan persons
under 20 years of age are considered juveniles.
The Six Major Law Codes and Procedures
There are six major fields of law providing basic rules for
life in Japan. They are; Judicial Code, Civil Code, Commercial
Code, Civil Procedure, Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure.
The government council of judicial reform in 2003 recommended
the government to take appropriate measures to provide official
English translations of major laws, as well as major judicial
precedents, in response to growing demand from the business
circle.(*5)
Judicial Reform
Urged by a growing demand in legal services in a wide range
of fields ranging from global corporate disputes to family feuds,
the Japanese government now aims to radically revamp the country's
legal system, which has remained virtually unchanged for over
half a century. In June 2001, the Judicial Reform Council, a
government panel, recommended sweeping changes in the system
in order to accommodate to a changing society.
One of the main features of the reform plan is the creation
of law schools to replace the old bar examination system, which
originated in the pre-war period. According to the Ministry
of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, a total
of 68 law schools, established by both public and private universities
around the country, began classes in April 2004, with total
enrollment about 5,600.(*6)
The current bar exam is extremely selective, with a pass rate
of 2.85% in the fiscal year 2002.(*7) As a result, the number
of lawyers in Japan is much smaller than those in other countries.
Critics have pointed out the fallout from the extremely competitive
nature of preparing for the exam. With a new bar exam planned
to start from 2006, the Judicial Reform Council envisions more
than doubling the presently sparse number of candidates passing
the bar to 3,000 by 2010, considerably raising the pass rate.(*8)
Revival of the Jury System
As a part of the government efforts to promote participation
of the general public in trials, the government's judiciary
reform promotion headquarters submitted a report in June 2003
that, among other items, presented the blueprint for a new system
to allow citizens to assist judges in criminal cases.(*9) The
jury system was first created in the Taisho era (1912-1926)
and was enforced until 1943, when the government scrapped the
system.
The draft plan calls for lay judges chosen from among voters,
along with professional judges, to determine the verdict for
criminal defendants as well as the severity of punishment if
a defendant is found guilty. The involvement of ordinary citizens
would be restricted to serious crimes, such as murder or arson.
After finalizing details of the plan, the government intends
to submit related bills to the Diet's ordinary session in 2004,
aiming to introduce the citizen judge system in the future.
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