Politics of Japan 日本の政治 (Japanese) | |
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| Polity type | Unitary[1] parliamentary constitutional monarchy[2] |
| Constitution | Constitution of Japan |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | National Diet |
| Type | Bicameral |
| 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 |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
| Head of government | |
| Title | Prime Minister |
| Currently | Shigeru Ishiba |
| Appointer | Emperor (Nominated by National Diet) |
| 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 | |
| Name | Judiciary |
| Supreme Court | |
| Chief judge | Yukihiko Imasaki, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court |
| Seat | Supreme Court Building |
| This article is part of a series on |
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 Japan portal |
The politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. A hereditary monarch, currently Emperor Naruhito, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of Japan, currently Shigeru Ishiba since 2024, serves as the elected head of government.
Legislative power is vested in the National Diet, which consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. The House of Representatives has eighteen standing committees ranging in size from 20 to 50 members and The House of Councillors has sixteen ranging from 10 to 45 members.[3]
Executive power is vested in the Cabinet, which is led by the Prime Minister who is nominated by National Diet and appointed by the Emperor. A Liberal Democratic–Komeito coalition minority government has held office since 2024.
Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts, and sovereignty is vested in the people of Japan by the 1947 Constitution, which was written during the Occupation of Japan primarily by American officials and had replaced the previous Meiji Constitution. Japan is considered a constitutional monarchy with a system of civil law.
The Japanese politics in the post-war period has largely been dominated by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power almost continuously since its foundation in 1955, a phenomenon known as the 1955 System. Of the 32 prime ministers since the end of the country's occupation in 1952, 25 as well as the longest serving ones have been members of the LDP.[4] Consequently, Japan has been described as a de facto one-party state.[5] The LDP suffered a defeat in the 2024 Japan general election, ending its era of political dominance.[6] The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Japan a "full democracy" its report for 2023. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, Japan was the 23rd most electoral democratic country in the world as of 2023.[7]
- ^ Heslop, D. Alan. "Political system - National political systems". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "Japan – The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ Philip Laundy - Parliaments in the Modern World page 109
- ^ 升味準之輔; Masumi, Junnosuke (1985). Gendai seiji : 1955-nen igo (Shohan ed.). Tōkyō: Tōkyō Daigaku Shuppankai. ISBN 978-4130330268. OCLC 15423787.
- ^ "Japan as a One-Party State: The Future for Koizumi and Beyond". www.wilsoncenter.org. Wilson Center. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Asada, Yumi; Regan, Helen (28 October 2024). "Japan plunged into political uncertainty after voters deliver dramatic defeat to longtime ruling party". CNN.
- ^ V-Dem Institute (2023). "The V-Dem Dataset". Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.