Japan is a nation in East Asia with a population of 126,457,664. Japan has three ethnic groups comprising of Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Japanese is the national language used in Japan. Majority of Japanese are Buddhist, Shinto and Christians. This paper mainly describes the politics, economic and military/law enforcement on Japan.
Japan has a constitutional monarchy. Its Emperor has limited powers but the constitution defines him as the “symbol of the state and of the unity of the people (Glenn 2010).” The Prime Minister of Japan and elected members of Diet hold power in Japan while Japanese people have dominion over the nation.
The Prime Minister of Japan is also the head of Cabinet and he has the power to dismiss and appoint Ministers of State. Japan’s current Emperor is known as Akihito while the Crown Prince of Japan is known as Naruhito. National Diet which is a bicameral parliament makes up the legislative in Japan.
The Diet comprise of House of Representatives (480 seats) who are elected after every four years or when the house is dissolved by popular vote (Glenn 2010). On the other hand, the House of Councilors which comprise of 242 seats are elected by members and allowed to serve Japan for a term of six years. There is a secret ballot that is used in elected offices and universal suffrage for those who are over the age of 20years.
Japanese legal system was mainly influence by Chinese law. Japanese Constitutions demands that the Emperor be responsible for promulgation of the legislation which is then passed by National Diet. The court system in Japan is separated into four parts: three different ranks of lower courts and the Supreme Court.
The Six Codes makes up the main body of statutory law in Japan. There are seven major political parties in Japan which are represented in National Diet. They include: Your Party (YP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Komeito Party (NK), the People’s New Party (PNP), the Japan Communist Party (JCP) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) (Glenn 2010).
Japan’s economy is ranked third among the largest in the world. Japan’s economy is competitive and efficient mainly in international trade. However, it has lower productivity in areas such as distribution, services and agriculture. Japan has a free and industrialized market economy with employees who are educated and hard working.
The country also has invested in many things and made several savings. Japan had attained several promotions in the foreign market due to its industrial development. This is why Japan has mature and rich industrial economy. Natural resources in Japan are few and that is why the country mainly relies on trade to earn foreign exchange that is used to purchase raw materials used in the country.
Between 1960s and 1980s, Japan had the highest economic growth rate which dramatically slowed down in early 1990s after the collapse of bubble economy which was marked by real estates and plummeting stock prices (Flath 2000). Japan’s real GPD grew roughly to 1% growth yearly and this became consistent until early 2000s when Japanese economy began to fall again until it became in line with the world’s economic conditions.
In 2008, Japan fell into its first recession and in 2009 with the fall in demand for goods all over the world, the Bank of Japan managed to report a growth in real GDP of -5.5%. In 2010, Japan’s economy improved with a growth of 4.4% in real GDP. In 2011, per capita GDP in Japan was $ 34,300 while real growth rate was 0.5% with a GDP of $ 855 trillion.
The main exports of Japan include computers, cars, and electronic devices with main traders being the USA, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany, Taiwan and Thailand. Japans major imports include raw materials such as wood, foodstuff and oil with major suppliers being China, USA, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
Recently, Japanese has shown greater understanding of security issues. They have also shown full support for Self Defense Forces and this was evident after the 2004 the tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean. Japan participated in the peacekeeping operations that took place in 1990s in Cambodia and also 2003-2008 stabilization/reconstruction efforts in Iraq and lastly in Tohoku disaster that took place in 2011. Japan government has inhibited its military role in international affairs.
Japan and United States have a close relationship; Japan mainly depends on the U.S for strategic protection after they signed Mutual Security Treaty (Alexander 2011). Japan is however interpreting on how they can revise Article 9 in their constitution. The U.S-Japan security alliance is the cornerstone that designs all foreign policy in the nation.
Japan has become associated with America for 19years: they joined Security Council in 1956. Japan is among the G4 nations that are in search of how to become permanent members of Security Council. The Article 9 of Japanese Constitution has given Japanese military the authority to use force or declare war in international disputes. Ministry of Defense governs Japan’s military and it consists of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).
References
Alexander, E. (2011). What Keeps the Japanese People Together? New York: Dissent Magazine.
Flath, M. (2000). The Japanese Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Glenn, H. (2010). Japan’s International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security. New York: Free Press.