Government of Japan
Long Conventional Name
none
Short Conventional Name
Japan
Long Local Name
Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku
Short Local Name
Nihon/Nippon
Government Type
Constitutional Monarchy
Capital City
Tokyo
Administrative Divisions
47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, 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.
Independence Day
Monday, 1st January 0001
Constitutional History
3 May 1947
Legal System
Modeled after German 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
Executive Branch
Chief of State
Emperor Akihito (since 7 January 1989)
Head of Government
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (since 26 September 2007)
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.
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).
Judical Branch
Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet).
Flag Description
White with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center.
