Japan Culture

‘’Final Projetc’’

March 29, 2012

Final Project

SELECTED MARKET
(JAPAN)

POPULATION:

Japan has the world'stenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes thede facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological researchindicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries victory in theFirst Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I allowed Japan toexpand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. TheSecond Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

POLITICALSYSTEM;
Unlike the American political system and the British political system which essentially have existed in their current form for centuries, the present Japanese political system is a much more recent construct dating from Japan's defeat in the Second World War and its subsequent occupation by the United States. The post-war constitution of 1947 is an anti-militarist document which includes therenunciation of the right to wage war and prohibits the maintenance of armed forces although later a limited self-defence force was permitted.
The constitution was drawn up under the Allied occupation. It is a rigid document and, since its adoption, no major amendment has been made to it.
Unquestionably Japan is a democratic country, but it is a very different kind of democracy to thatprevailing in most of Europe in countries like France and Germany .The single most important reason for this is the dominant position of one party – the Liberal Democratic Party – which held power almost unbroken for more than 50 years.
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Japan is a constitutional monarchy (like Britain) where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by theconstitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". This is a dramatic contrast to the situation prior to Japan's wartime defeat by the Americans when the Emperor was regarded as divine.
The Prime Minister is chosen for a term of four years, although the political turbulence of the Japanese system is such that he rarely serves a full term. He must win a majority in the Dietin a single signed ballot. If the two houses cannot reach agreement, the decision of the House of Representatives always prevails. The official residence of the Prime Minister is called the Kantei (a new building was opened in 2002).
Yoshihko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) currently serves as the Prime Minister. He is Japan's seventh Prime Minister in six years.
The Prime Ministerchoses his Cabinet which is limited by a constitutional amendment of 2001 to an additional 14 regular members with the possibility of three special members. At least half of the Cabinet must be members of the Diet.
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Japanese legislature is called the Kokkai or Diet and is a bicameral structure. Generally decisions are made on a majority vote, but a two-thirds majorityis required in special cases.
The lower house in the Japanese political system is the Shugi-in or House of Representatives. It has 480 seats and members serve a four-year term, although only once since the war has a full term been served (the average is two and a half years). Of the 480 seats, 300 are elected from single-member constituencies and the other 180 are elected from 11 multi-member...