National Diet of Japan

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The National Diet (国会, Kokkai) is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under parallel voting. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister. The Diet was first convened as the Imperial Diet in 1889 as a result of adopting the Meiji Constitution. The Diet took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the post-war constitution, which considers it the highest organ of state power. The National Diet Building is in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo.

National Diet
国会
Kokkai
200th Session of the Diet
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Bicameral
Houses House of Councillors
House of Representatives
History
Founded 11 February 1889 (1889-02-11)
Leadership
Shintaro ItouIK
Since January 7, 2019
Nobuo UenoIK
Since January 9, 2019
Kazuma AmamiyaIK
Since December 10, 2018
Structure
Seats 745
245 Councillors
500 Representatives
Japanese House of Councillors composition 2019.svg
House of Councillors political groups
Government:
  IK: 0 seats
  LPJ: 0 seats
Opposition:
Alliance
  DPJ: 0 seats
  SDP: 0 seats
  PP: 0 seats
Other Opposition
  Komeito: 0 seats
  JCP: 0 seats
  New Wind: 0 seats
  Independents: 0 seats
Japanese House of Representatives composition 2019.svg
House of Representatives political groups
Government:
  IK: 249 seats
  LPJ: 46 seats
Opposition:
Alliance
  DPJ: 72 seats
  SDP: 55 seats
  PP: 21 seats
Other Opposition
  Komeito: 35 seats
  JCP: 11 seats
  New Wind: 19 seats
  Independents: 9 seats
Elections
House of Councillors voting system
parallel single member district and party-list proportional representation
House of Representatives voting system
parallel single member district and party-list proportional representation
House of Councillors last election
December 10, 2018
Meeting place
Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg
National Diet Building, Nagatachō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Website
House of Councillors
House of Representatives

Composition

For a more comprehensive list, see List of members of the Diet of Japan.

See also: Elections in Japan

The houses of the Diet are both elected under parallel voting systems. This means that the seats to be filled in any given election are divided into two groups, each elected by a different method; the main difference between the houses is in the sizes of the two groups and how they are elected. Voters cast two votes at the election: one for an individual candidate in a single-member constituency, and one for a party list. Any Japanese national of at least 18 years of age may vote in general elections. The age was lowered from 20 to 18 in 2016. Japan's parallel voting system is not to be confused with the Additional Member System used in many other nations. The Constitution of Japan does not specify the number of members of each house of the Diet, the voting system, or the necessary qualifications of those who may vote or be returned in parliamentary elections, thus allowing all of these things to be determined by law. However it does guarantee universal adult suffrage and a secret ballot. It also insists that the electoral law must not discriminate in terms of "race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income".

Generally, the election of Diet members is controlled by statutes passed by the Diet. This is a source of contention concerning re-apportionment of prefectures' seats in response to changes of population distribution. For example, the Restoration Conference had controlled Japan for most of its post-war history, and it gained much of its support from rural areas. During the post-war era, large numbers of people have relocated to urban centers seeking jobs and prosperity; though some re-apportionments have been made to the number of each prefecture's assigned seats in the Diet, rural areas generally have more representation than do urban areas. The Supreme Court of Japan began exercising judicial review of apportionment laws following the Kurokawa decision of 1976, invalidating an election in which one district in Hyōgo Prefecture received five times the representation of another district in Osaka Prefecture. In recent elections the malapportionment ratio amounted to 4.8 in the House of Councillors and 2.3 in the House of Representatives.

Candidates for the lower house must be 25 years old or older and 30 years or older for the upper house. All candidates must be Japanese nationals. Under Article 49 of Japan's Constitution, Diet members are paid about ¥1.3 million a month in salary. Each lawmaker is entitled to employ three secretaries with taxpayer funds, free Shinkansen tickets, and four round-trip airplane tickets a month to enable them to travel back and forth to their home districts.

Powers

The Constitution of Japan describes the National Diet as "the highest organ of State power" and "the sole law-making organ of the State". This statement is in forceful contrast to the Meiji Constitution, which described the Emperor as the one who exercised legislative power with the consent of the Diet. The Diet's responsibilities include not only the making of laws but also the approval of the annual national budget that the government submits and the ratification of treaties. It can also initiate draft constitutional amendments, which, if approved, must be presented to the people in a referendum. The Diet may conduct "investigations in relation to government". The Prime Minister must be elected from among the members of the Diet and designated by Diet resolution, establishing the principle of legislative supremacy over executive government agencies. The government can also be dissolved by the Diet if it passes a motion of no confidence introduced by one hundred members of the House of Representatives. Government officials, including the Prime Minister and Cabinet members, are required to appear before Diet investigative committees and answer inquiries. The Diet also has the power to impeach judges convicted of criminal or irregular conduct.

The House of Representatives is the more powerful chamber of the Diet. While the House of Representatives cannot usually overrule the House of Councillors on a bill, the House of Councillors can only delay the adoption of a budget or a treaty that has been approved by the House of Representatives, and the House of Councillors has almost no power at all to prevent the lower house from selecting any Prime Minister it wishes. Furthermore, once appointed it is the confidence of the House of Representatives alone that the Prime Minister must enjoy in order to continue in office. The House of Representatives can overrule the upper house in the following circumstances:

  • If a bill is adopted by the House of Representatives and then either rejected, amended or not approved within 60 days by the House of Councillors, then the bill will become law if again adopted by the House of Representatives by a majority of at least two-thirds of members present.
  • If both houses cannot agree on a budget or a treaty, even through the appointment of a joint committee of the Diet, or if the House of Councillors fails to take final action on a proposed budget or treaty within 30 days of its approval by the House of Representatives, then the decision of the lower house is deemed to be that of the Diet.
  • If both houses cannot agree on a candidate for Prime Minister, even through a joint committee, or if the House of Councillors fails to designate a candidate within 10 days of House of Representatives' decision, then the nominee of the lower house is deemed to be that of the Diet.

Activities

Under the Constitution, at least one session of the Diet must be convened each year. Technically, only the House of Representatives is dissolved before an election. But, while the lower house is in dissolution, the House of Councillors is usually "closed". The sitting Prime Minister convokes the Diet and dissolves the House of Representatives. An additional extraordinary session may be requested by one-quarter of the members of either house. At the beginning of each parliamentary session, the Prime Minister outlines the government agenda from a speech presented to the Diet in the House of Councillors chamber.

The presence of one-third of the membership of either house constitutes a quorum and deliberations are in public unless at least two-thirds of those present agree otherwise. Each house elects its own presiding officer who casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie. Members of each house have certain protections against arrest while the Diet is in session and words spoken and votes cast in the Diet enjoy parliamentary privilege. Each house of the Diet determines its own standing orders and has responsibility for disciplining its own members. A member may be expelled, but only by a two-thirds majority vote. Every member of the Cabinet has the right to appear in either house of the Diet for the purpose of speaking on bills, and each house has the right to compel the appearance of Cabinet members.