Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan
Government type:
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government
Capital:
Tokyo
Administrative divisions:
47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka,
Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, 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:
660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)
National holiday:
Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)
Constitution:
3 May 1947
Legal system:
modeled after European 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)
note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI,
Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority
Liberal Democratic Party and soon thereafter designated by the Diet
to become the next prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the
prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister
must command a parliamentary majority; therefore, following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of
a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes
prime minister
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April
2001)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or
Sangi-in (247 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half
reelected every three years; 149 members in multi-seat
constituencies and 98 by proportional representation); 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)
election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito 23, JCP 20, SDP 8,
Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5, independents 14; distribution
of seats as of July 2001 was: LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20,
SDP 8, Liberal Party 8 (merged with DPJ in 2003), independents 6,
others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP
49.38%, DPJ 36.88%, Komeito 7.09%, JCP 1.88%, SDP 1.25%, NCP .84%;
seats by party - LDP 237, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, NCP 4,
others 13; distribution of seats as of 13 November 2003 was: LDP
244, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 10
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2001 (next to be
held in July 2004); House of Representatives - last held 9 November
2003 (next election has not been scheduled)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after
designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the
cabinet)
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Naoto KAN, leader; Katsuya OKADA,
secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII,
chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori
KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal
Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Shinzo ABE,
secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho
FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue
partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP,
EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187
consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver,
Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri),
Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San
Francisco, and Seattle
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420
mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, 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
Flag description:
white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in
the center