The political regime of Japan - the history of the last Empire

• Political structure of Japan: history and modernity
• Political situation of the country, parties of Japan

The political regime of Japan is a constitutional monarchy.
According to officially confirmed data, the Japanese monarchy is the oldest existing monarchy in the world, the dynasty of which has not been interrupted. Today's rulers of Japan are direct descendants of the first Emperor since the formation of the state in the 7th century BC. Besides this fact, the uniqueness of Japan as a state lies in the fact that it is the only country in the world that bears the official title of Empire.

Political structure of Japan

Japan is a democratic unitary state governed by the rule of law with a parliamentary monarchy as a form of government.
In this country, the Constitution of 1947 remains in force at the moment. Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, which fall into four types:

• then - Tokyo;
• fu - Osaka, Kyoto;
• to – Hokkaido;
• ken - 43 remaining prefectures.

The island of Hokkaido is completely included in the prefecture of the same name. The following prefectures are located on the island of Honshu: Aichi; Akita; Wakayama; Aomori; Gifu; Ibaraki; Gumma; Ishi-kava; Iwate and many others.

The largest cities with a population of 1 million people or more are: Tokyo - 13.7 million, Yokohama - 3.4 million, Osaka - 2.6 million, Nagoya - 2.2 million, Sapporo - 1.8 million ., Kyoto - 1.5 million, Kobe - 1.4 million, Kawasaki - 1.3 million, Fukuoka - 1.3 million, Kitakyushu - 1.0 million, Sendai - 1.0 million.

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Main sources of law in Japan

One of the specific features of the traditional legal system of Japan is the uniqueness of the system of sources of law . This is manifested in the fact that, along with legal norms moral and religious norms , including also customs and traditions are of great importance .

Law. The main sources of law in Japan are regulations (laws), i.e. written law . In Japan, the Constitution (the second one), various codes (Civil, Trade, Civil Procedure, Criminal, Criminal Procedure, etc.), and special laws have been adopted and are in force. At the same time, many Japanese acts have been in effect almost unchanged since the late 19th – early 20th centuries.

Custom. Customs , along with written law, are also among the main sources of Japanese law. At the same time, in terms of the strength and degree of legal authority and supremacy in the legal system, law and custom competed with each other for a long time.

The unwritten customary law of Japan owes its origin in most cases to the philosophical concepts of China . A great tribute to tradition can be seen in Japan in all manifestations of the functioning of the modern legal system, including the mental perception of law by the population, the resolution of various disputes, the preparation and adoption of regulations, etc.

Ritual norms. In Japan, there are so-called ritual norms (Japanese rei;), introduced back in 604 by the “Shotoku Constitution”. These norms were closely related to the traditions of their ancestors and local customs. The ritual was a necessary form for the subordination of the population to the authorities, which expressed the morality laid down by Confucius. In China, ritual norms had much greater significance and significant legal force than in Japan. Subsequently, some rays entered the legislative system, losing their autonomous significance as a source of law .

Judicial precedent . Precedent also has some significance in the Japanese legal system , since courts of various instances refer and cite specific court decisions in large numbers.

Political system of Japan

The democratization of Japan in the post-war period was reflected, among other things, in the formation of a multi-party system. At the moment, the most significant parties are:

• LDP;
• Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ);
• New Komeito (NK);
• Conservative Party (CP);
• Communist Party of Japan (JCP);
• Social Democratic Party (SDP).

For 38 years, the LDP, a party of moderate conservatism, maintained a monopoly of power, but later its excessively close merging with business and bureaucratic circles became a source of corruption. The party could no longer initiate and implement political, political and social reforms important to the state and, as a result, lost the support of many voters, which now forces it to form coalition governments

The electorate also lacks trust in opposition parties, which often demonstrate their own inability to succeed with regular changes in power. The ideological differences between them are so strong that the formation of one front is not possible. And any of them separately is hopelessly weak, and therefore is not able to carry out the struggle for power individually.

LDN crisis

After several deputies left the party, citing the decrepitude and decline of the party, the New Liberal Club was created, which was briefly called the NLK. Speaking about the club, it was necessary to say that it was quite popular. The Communist Party never had much authority in Japan, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union its activities came to a complete standstill.

The economic and cultural situation in the country also played an important role in relation to the political situation in the country. Japan's success in this area was due to several factors at once: the rapid development of industry, productivity growth, the involvement of the population in labor, etc. High rates of development and production were demonstrated, but there was no solution to problems in the environmental and social spheres, which have become especially noticeable in recent years.

Figure 1. Political parties in Japan. Author24 - online exchange of student work

Features of Japanese criminal law

The Japanese Criminal Code was adopted back in 1907 , and, with amendments, is still in effect today. In addition, special criminal laws (for example, the Minor Crimes Act 1948, the Minors Act 1948).

Japanese criminal law formulates the following basic principles : the principle of legality, the principle of equality before the law (Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution), the territorial principle. In particular, if Japanese citizens commit crimes outside their country, they are subject to the jurisdiction of the Japanese Penal Code in accordance with the principle of nationality (Article 3 of the Japanese Constitution). But this applies to offenders who have committed serious crimes.

According to the principle of protection, if the perpetrator has infringed upon important benefits of Japan outside Japan, he also falls under the jurisdiction of Japan, regardless of his nationality.

In Art. 39 of the Constitution of Japan establishes the traditional principle of retroactive law, which is regulated in the criminal legislation of Japan (Article 6 of the Criminal Code of Japan).

A peculiarity of Japanese criminal law is that it does not classify crimes by the nature and degree of public danger or by severity . The Japanese Criminal Code does not contain such a guiding principle, since “there is no crime and no punishment unless specified in law.”

Despite the fact that the Japanese yakuza (the traditional mafia in Japan) is well known, Japanese criminal law does not clearly define organized crime, nor the criminal legal consequences of participation in it.

The elements of a crime in Japanese criminal law also have their differences, in particular, they differ from Russian criminal law in that not all four elements can be distinguished, but only two - the objective and subjective side of the crime, while the subject and object of the crime are included in the objective side of the crime.

The peculiarity of Japan's criminal policy is manifested in the presence of a system of “protective supervision” . A person who has stumbled and violated the criminal law receives a “second chance” by remaining free and continuing to live his usual life. If he behaves respectably, then he does not serve the assigned sentence; if not, he is sent to the place where the sentence is executed.

Not everyone can take advantage of a “second chance,” but only five categories of people :

• 1) minors convicted by a decision of a family court;
• 2) minors conditionally released from detention in a correctional institution;
• 3) parolees from prisons;
• 4) those sentenced to probation and placed under protective supervision;
• 5) women conditionally released from detention in an educational institution (persons engaged in prostitution, etc.).

This form of possible rehabilitation of a person before society is important, especially in cases where minors are involved.

Emperor[ | ]

The main stone bridge of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
Main article: Emperor of Japan

According to the current Constitution, the Emperor is “the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese nation.” He serves as the formal head of state, although this status is not legally assigned to him. Unlike the times of the Japanese Empire, the Emperor is deprived of the right to rule the state. He performs only ceremonial functions and is obliged to coordinate all his actions in the political sphere with the Cabinet of Ministers of the country[2].

With the advice and approval of the Cabinet, the Emperor takes the following actions ( Article 7

)[2]:

1. Publication of amendments to the Constitution, laws, government decrees and international treaties;
2. Convocation of Parliament;
3. Dissolution of the House of Representatives;
4. Announcement of general parliamentary elections;
5. Confirmation of the appointments and resignations of government ministers and other statutory public services in accordance with the law, as well as the powers, mandates and credentials of ambassadors and envoys;
6. Confirmation of amnesties and pardons, commutations of sentences, exemptions from execution of sentences and restoration of rights;
7. Presentation of awards;
8. Confirmation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents provided for by law;
9. Reception of foreign ambassadors and envoys;
10. Dispatch of ceremonies.

According to Article 8, “No property may be transferred to, received by, or given by the Imperial Family to anyone except in accordance with a resolution of Parliament.”

The Emperor and the Imperial House are limited in their property rights. They have no right to accept or give property without the permission of Parliament. According to the current law on the imperial house of 1947, the Emperor fulfills his duties for life. His successor is chosen from among the men in the male line of the main branch of the Imperial family. In case of illness or minority of the Emperor, the institution of regency is provided. All affairs of the Emperor and the Imperial House are handled by the Office of the Imperial Household under the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan[8][9].

As of May 1, 2021, His Majesty Emperor Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan [9].

Sources and literature[ | ]

Laws[ | ]

• (Japanese) Constitution of the Great Japanese Empire // National Diet Library of Japan
• (Japanese) Constitution of Japan // National Diet Library of Japan
• (Japanese) “Laws of Japan” // Database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (Japanese) No. 3 of January 16, 1947 “On the Imperial House” // Laws of Japan
• (Japanese) No. 5 of January 16, 1947 “On the Cabinet of Ministers” // Laws of Japan
• (Japanese) No. 59 of April 16, 1947 “On courts” // Laws of Japan
• (Japanese) No. 67 of April 17, 1947 “On local self-government” // Laws of Japan
• (Japanese) No. 79 of April 30, 1947 “On Parliament” // Laws of Japan
• (Japanese) No. 100 of April 15, 1950 “On election to public positions” // Laws of Japan

Encyclopedia[ | ]

• The political system of Japan // Encyclopedia of Nipponics: in 26 volumes, 2nd edition. - Tokyo: Shogakkan, 1994-1997.

Other[ | ]

• The political system of modern Japan [Text]: a textbook for university students studying in the areas of training (specialties) “International Relations” and “Foreign Regional Studies” / [P. A. Kalmychek and others]; edited by D. V. Streltsova; Assoc. Japanese Studies, Moscow State. int. int. Relations (University) MFA of Russia, Institute of Oriental Studies RAS. - Moscow: Aspect Press, 2013. - 381 p. — ISBN 978-5-7567-0682-6

Content

• 1 Constitution 1.1 Old Constitution
• 1.2 New constitution