Government of Japan

Government of Japan 日本国政府
Seal of the Government
Polity type	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of Japan
Formation	1868; 156 years ago (1868)
Legislative branch
Name	National Diet
Meeting place	National Diet Building
Upper house
Name	House of Councillors
Presiding officer	Masakazu Sekiguchi, 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
Head of government
Title	Prime Minister
Currently	Shigeru Ishiba
Appointer	Emperor
Cabinet
Name	Cabinet of Japan
Current cabinet	Second Ishiba Cabinet
Leader	Prime Minister
Appointer	Prime Minister
Headquarters	Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office of Japan)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Japan
Seat	Chiyoda, Tokyo

This article is part of a series on
Politics of Japan
Constitution and Laws Constitution of Japan (1947–present) Meiji Constitution (1890–1947) Laws
The Monarchy The Emperor (List) Naruhito Crown Prince Fumihito Imperial House Chrysanthemum Throne Imperial Succession Imperial Household Agency
Executive Government Prime Minister (List) Shigeru Ishiba (LDP) Cabinet (List) Second Ishiba Cabinet (LDP–Komeito coalition) Ministries Administrative Agencies
Legislature National Diet House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga Vice Speaker Kōichirō Genba House of Councillors President Masakazu Sekiguchi Vice President Hiroyuki Nagahama
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Saburo Tokura Justices of the Supreme Court Intellectual Property High Court
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Elections List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan List of districts of the House of Councillors of Japan Japanese House of Councillors national proportional representation block Political parties Japanese general elections 1890 1892 1894 (Mar) 1894 (Sep) 1898 (Mar) 1898 (Aug) 1902 1903 1904 1908 1912 1915 1917 1920 1924 1928 1930 1932 1936 1937 1942 1946 1947 1949 1952 1953 1955 1958 1960 1963 1967 1969 1972 1976 1979 1980 1983 1986 1990 1993 1996 2000 2003 2005 2009 2012 2014 2017 2021 2024 Japanese House of Councillors elections 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 2025 Unified local elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
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The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947 and written by American officials in the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty-seven administrative divisions, with the Emperor as its head of state.^[1] His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to the Government.^[2] Instead, it is the Cabinet, comprising the Prime Minister and the Ministers of State, that directs and controls the government and the civil service. The Cabinet has the executive power and is formed by the prime minister, who is the head of government.^[3][4] The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Diet and appointed to office by the Emperor.^[5][6] The current cabinet is Second Ishiba Cabinet, was formed on 11 November 2024, is led by the prime minister Shigeru Ishiba who assumed office on 1 October 2024. The country has had a Liberal Democratic–Komeito coalition minority government since 2024.

The National Diet is the legislature, the organ of the Legislative branch. The Diet is bicameral, consisting of two houses with the House of Councilors being the upper house, and the House of Representatives being the lower house. The members of both houses of the Diet are directly elected by the people, who are the source of sovereignty.^[7] The Diet is defined as the supreme organ of sovereignty in the Constitution. The Supreme Court and other lower courts make up the Judicial branch and have all the judicial powers in the state. The Supreme Court has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the constitution and the power of judicial review. The judicial branch is independent from the executive and the legislative branches.^[8] Judges are nominated or appointed by the Cabinet and never removed by the executive or the legislature except during impeachment.

The Government of Japan is based in the capital of Tokyo, where the National Diet Building, the Imperial Palace, the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister's Office and the ministries are all located.