Explain the working of the bicameral parliament of Japan. How have the opposition parties made use of this to block the power of LDP?
What will be an ideal response?
Japan's postwar constitution provides democratic accountability through
elections to its Diet or bicameral parliament. Members of the lower chamber of
parliament, the House of Representatives (HR), serve for four-year terms. However, like
most parliamentary systems, the HR can also hold early elections at any point before the
term is up. Members of the upper house, the House of Councillors (HC), serve fixed sixyear
terms. In theory, opposition parties can use no-confidence motions to check the
authority of the ruling party. However, no-confidence motions have rarely passed in
Japan, simply because during the postwar era, the LDP typically had an overwhelming
majority in the House of Representatives. A majority in the House of Representatives
determines Japan's prime minister, who, in turn, selects the cabinet. The key way that
opposition parties can exercise some check on government power is by winning control of
the upper chamber of the Diet. The House of representatives passes the budget and
ratifies foreign treaties, without any input from the House of Councillors (although the HC
can briefly delay the passage of the budget and/or treaties). But in all other policy areas,
both houses of parliament must approve bills for them to become law.
Bicameralism has at times given the opposition greater power to check the prime
minister's party. By winning a majority in the upper chamber, opposition parties were
able to block legislation passed by the lower. From 2007 to 2009, the LDP controlled the
lower house, but the DPJ was the largest party in the upper house and, therefore, held off
some LDP legislation. In short, at times in more recent years the opposition has been able
to block LDP power by holding a substantial number of seats in the Diet's upper house.
But, in general, parliamentary government controlled by a single party in Japan has
allowed the LDP to centralize power in the cabinet with few checks and balances from
outside forces.
You might also like to view...
Starting in 2013, the international community forced the Syrian government to take what action?
a. reveal the location of suspected terrorists hiding in the country b. relinquish control of the national government to the rebel fighters c. dismantle its nuclear facilities d. destroy its chemical weapons
Foreign news coverage has been reduced over the years for which of the following reasons noted in your text?
a. Viewer preference for domestic news and cable network competition b. Deregulation and conglomeration c. The general decline of global conflict and thus the absence of newsworthy stories d. Privatization and outsourcing
In a laboratory setting, external validity is
A) always high. B) increased when settings are more controlled. C) increased when laboratories are made more constrained. D) increased if the researcher makes an attempt to create a natural environment.
Which of the following has been used by states to ease the voting process and increase voter turnout?
a. Internet voting b. early voting c. digital voting d. proxy voting