Government of Japan - statistics & facts
2024 has been a turbulent year for Japan’s ruling party, LDP. Shaken by a series of scandals involving his party and falling approval rates, Prime Minister Kishida announced his decision to step down as Prime Minister in August 2024. The Constitution of Japan went into effect in 1947, regulating the separation of the legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. The National Diet of Japan is elected to pass legislation, while the Cabinet represents the executive organ. The judicial power in Japan resides with the judicial courts. The judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, determines the constitutionality of the laws enacted by the National Diet and policies adopted by the Cabinet.
Prime Minister Kishida announced his resignation in August 2024 after support for his administration was declining amid the country’s economic situation and a series of political scandals involving the LDP. In 2022, Kishida’s approval rating was hit by revelations about his party’s ties to the unification church, a controversial religious group, which came to light after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Later in 2024, the LDP was shaken by a funding scandal resulting in even lower approval ratings for the cabinet. With his announcement to resign, Prime Minister Kishida has paved the way for the LDP to elect a new party leader and thereby prime minister in the next Liberal Democratic Party leadership election scheduled for September 2024.
Legislative branch: National Diet
The Japanese National Diet is a bicameral legislature divided into the House of Representatives (lower house) and the House of Councillors (upper house). The House of Representatives holds more power than the upper house. The members of the lower house are in office for four years, unless it is dissolved earlier. The House of Councillors, by comparison, cannot be dissolved, and its elections are conducted every three years to replace half of the members who are elected to six-year terms. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been in power for most of its history since its establishment in 1955 with Komeito being the parties’ coalition partner since 2012.Executive branch: Cabinet
The Cabinet of Japan enforces laws, adopts measures and policies, and drives foreign diplomacy. To form a new Cabinet, the Diet first designates a new Prime Minister. The newly elected Prime Minister then appoints a new cabinet. Highly dependent on the nation’s cabinet approval rate and the political landscape, Prime Ministers tend to resign comparatively often in Japan. After the start of the Heisei period in 1989, four Prime Ministers stepped aside with a serving time of less than a year. As of 2024, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister, with a total of 3,188 days in office.Prime Minister Kishida announced his resignation in August 2024 after support for his administration was declining amid the country’s economic situation and a series of political scandals involving the LDP. In 2022, Kishida’s approval rating was hit by revelations about his party’s ties to the unification church, a controversial religious group, which came to light after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Later in 2024, the LDP was shaken by a funding scandal resulting in even lower approval ratings for the cabinet. With his announcement to resign, Prime Minister Kishida has paved the way for the LDP to elect a new party leader and thereby prime minister in the next Liberal Democratic Party leadership election scheduled for September 2024.
