Red sun disc, chrysanthemum; national colors: red, white.
Title | "Kimigayo" (The Emperor's Reign) |
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Lyric/music | unknown/Hiromori HAYASHI |
Date of Independence | 3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 11 February 660 B.C. (mythological date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy) |
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National holiday | Birthday of Emperor NARUHITO, 23 February (1960); note - celebrates the birthday of the current emperor |
Legal system | civil law system based on German model; system also reflects Anglo-American influence and Japanese traditions; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court |
International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
Constitution | |
History | Previous 1890; latest approved 6 October 1946, adopted 3 November 1946, effective 3 May 1947 |
Amendments | Proposed by the Diet; passage requires approval by at least two-thirds majority of both houses of the Diet and approval by majority in a referendum; note - the constitution has not been amended since its enactment in 1947 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Japan |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 5 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | Emperor NARUHITO (since 1 May 2019) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Shigeru ISHIBA (since 1 October 2024) |
Cabinet | Cabinet appointed by the prime minister |
Elections/appointments | the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister |
Election results | 2024: Shigeru ISHIBA (LDP) elected prime minister on 27 September 2024; upper house vote - 143 of 242 votes; lower house vote - 291 of 461 votes (note - ISHIBA resigned as prime minister on 11 November 2024 following parliamentary elections but was re-elected over Yoshihiko NODA (CDP) in the second round of voting in the lower house, 221-160) 2021: Fumio KISHIDA reelected prime minister on 10 November 2021; upper house vote - Fumio KISHIDA (LDP) 141, Yukio EDANO (CDP) 60; lower house vote - Fumio KISHIDA 297, Yukio EDANO 108 |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Bicameral National Diet or Kokkai consists of: House of Councilors or Sangi-in (248 seats; 148 members directly elected in multi-seat districts by simple majority vote and 100 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with half the membership renewed every 3 years) House of Representatives or Shuugi-in (465 seats; 289 members directly elected in single-seat districts by simple majority vote and 176 directly elected in multi-seat districts by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve up to 4-year terms) |
Elections | House of Councillors - last held on 10 July 2022 (next to be held in July 2025) House of Representatives - last held on 27 October 2024 (next to be held by October 2025) |
Election results | House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/grouping as of January 2024 - LDP 116, CDP-SDP 40, Komeito 27, JCP 11, Ishin 21, DPP 11, Reiwa 5, OW 2, NHK 2, independent 12; composition - men 182, women 66; percentage women 26.6% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 26.7%, CDP 21.2%, Ishin 9.4%, DPP 11.3%, Komeito 10.9%, Reiwa 7%, JCP 6.2%, Sanseito Party 3.4%, CPJ 2.1%; seats by party as of October 2024 - LDP 191, CDP 148, Ishin 38, DPP 28, Komeito 24, Reiwa 9, JCP 8, Sanseito Party 3, CPJ 3, SDP 1, Independents 12 ; composition - men 392 men, women 73; percentage women 15.7% |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Supreme Court or Saiko saibansho (consists of the chief justice and 14 associate justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in constitutional issues |
Judge selection and term of office | Supreme Court chief justice designated by the Cabinet and appointed by the monarch; associate justices appointed by the Cabinet and confirmed by the monarch; all justices are reviewed in a popular referendum at the first general election of the House of Representatives following each judge's appointment and every 10 years afterward |
Subordinate courts | 8 High Courts (Koto-saiban-sho), each with a Family Court (Katei-saiban-sho); 50 District Courts (Chiho saibansho), with 203 additional branches; 438 Summary Courts (Kani saibansho) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador YAMADA Shigeo (since 27 February 2024) |
Chancery | 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 238-6700 |
FAX | [1] (202) 328-2187 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html |
Consulate(s) general | Chicago |
Consulate(s) | Anchorage (AK), Atlanta, Boston, Denver (CO), Detroit (MI), Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville (TN), New York, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands), Seattle (WA) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Rahm EMANUEL (since 25 March 2022) |
Embassy | 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 |
Mailing address | 9800 Tokyo Place, Washington DC 20521-9800 |
Telephone | [81] (03) 3224-5000 |
FAX | [81] (03) 3224-5856 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://jp.usembassy.gov/ |
Consulate(s) general | Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo |
Consulate(s) | Fukuoka, Nagoya |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 25 (20 cultural, 5 natural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area (c); Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (c); Himeji-jo (c); Shiretoko (n); Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan (c); Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape (c); Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan (c); Yakushima (n); Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (c); Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) (c) |
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