FACTS ON JAPAN
Facts about the Japanese government
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: none
conventional short form: Japan
local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku
local short form: Nihon/Nippon |
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Government type:
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a parliamentary
government with a constitutional monarchy |
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Capital:
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name:
Tokyo
geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E
time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington,
DC during Standard Time) |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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660 B.C. (traditional
founding by Emperor JIMMU) |
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National holiday:
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Birthday of Emperor
AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) |
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Constitution:
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3 May 1947 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Suffrage:
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20 years of age;
universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state:
Emperor
AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government:
Prime
Minister Yukio HATOYAMA (since 16 September 2009)
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
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists
of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for
fixed 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 maximum four-year terms; 300
in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation
in 11 regional blocs); the prime minister has the right to dissolve the House
of Representatives at any time with the concurrence of the cabinet.
elections:
House
of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House
of Representatives - last held 30 August 2009 (next to be held by August
2013)
election results:
House
of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109,
LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18
House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies)
- DPJ 42.4%, LDP 26.7%, Komeito 11.5%, JCP 7.0%, SDP 4.3%, others 8.1%; seats
by party - DPJ 308, LDP 119, Komeito 21, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 16 (2009)
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court
(chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet;
all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Democratic Party
of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII];
Komeito [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Taro ASO]; Social
Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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other:
business groups; trade unions |
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International organization participation:
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ADB, AfDB (nonregional
member), APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS,
CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8,
G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC,
LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club,
PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission:
Ambassador Ichiro FUJISAKI
chancery:
2520
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1]
(202) 238-6700
FAX:
[1] (202) 328-2187
consulate(s) general:
Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle
consulate(s):
Anchorage,
Nashville
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420
mailing address: APO AP 96337-5004
telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000
FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862
consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo
consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
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Flag description:
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white with a
large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center |
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