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The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited and is relegated primarily to ceremonial duties. As in many other states, the Government is divided into three branches: the Executive branch, the Legislative branch and the Judicial branch. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan adopted in 1947. It is an unitary state, containing forty-seven administrative divisions, with the Emperor as its head of state.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html )〕 His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to Government. Instead, it is the Cabinet, composing of the Ministers of State and the Prime Minister, that directs and controls the Government. The Cabinet is the source of power of the Executive branch, and is formed by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. He or she is designated by the National Diet and appointed to office by the Emperor. The National Diet is the legislature, the organ of the Legislative branch. It is bicameral, consisting of two houses with the House of Councillors being the upper house, and the House of Representatives being the lower house. Its members are directly elected from the people, who are the source of sovereignty. The Supreme Court and other inferior courts makes up the Judicial branch, and they are independent from the executive and the legislative branches. == History == Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Japan was ruled by successive military shoguns. During this period, effective power of the government resided in the Shogun, who officially ruled the country in the name of the Emperor. The Shoguns were the hereditary military governors, with their modern rank equivalent to a generalissimo. Although the Emperor was the sovereign who appointed the Shogun, his roles were ceremonial and he took no part in governing the country. This is often compared to the present role of the Emperor, whose official role is to appoint the Prime Minister. The Meiji Restoration in 1868 led to the resignation of Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" the Emperor's orders. This event restored the country to Imperial rule and the proclamation of the Empire of Japan. In 1889, the Meiji Constitution was adopted in a move to strengthen Japan to the level of western nations, resulting in the first parliamentary system in Asia.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D0DE2DD1F3BE533A25755C2A9679C94609ED7CF )〕 It provided a form of mixed constitutional-absolute monarchy, with an independent judiciary, based on the Prussian model of the time.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.colorado.edu/cas/tea/becoming-modern/3-nature/nature-of-sovereignty-lesson.pdf )〕 A new aristocracy known as the Kazoku was established. It merged the ancient court nobility of the Heian period, the Kuge, and the former Daimyo, feudal lords subordinate to the Shogun. It also established the Imperial Diet, consisting of the House of Representatives and the House of Peers. Members of the House of Peers were made up of the Imperial Family, the Kazoku, and those nominated by the Emperor, while members of the House of Representatives were elected by direct male suffrage. Despite clear distinctions between powers of the executive branch and the Emperor in the Meiji Constitution, ambiguity and contradictions in the Constitution eventually lead to a political crisis. It also devalued the notion of civilian control over the military, which meant that the military could develop and exercise a great influence on politics. Following the end of World War II, the Constitution of Japan was adopted as an intention to replace the previous Imperial rule with a form of Western-style liberal democracy.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hartpub.co.uk/pdf/samples/9781841137926sample.pdf )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Government of Japan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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