Differences and similarities between the governments of the two countries
Similarities and differences between Japanese and American governments
Since I received a request this time, I summarized the similarities and differences between Japanese and American politics. Stephanie, thank you for your request!
Let’s start with the similarities.
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<Similarity>
1. Separation of powers
Both the US government and the Japanese government have a division of roles called the separation of powers.
・ Legislation: Make a law. This is the federal parliament in the United States and the Diet in Japan.
・ Judiciary: Resolve troubles based on the law. The federal court in the United States and the courts in Japan play this role.
・ Administration: Implement policies in accordance with the law. In the United States, one president plays this role, and in Japan, the Cabinet plays this role.
2. Political party
Political parties are broadly classified into two types in both countries.
・ Conservative party: The characteristics of the conservative system are political parties that have the direction of increasing defense costs, free market economy, emphasizing culture and tradition, and not protecting the environment until the economy is regulated. The Republican Party is the party in the United States, and the Liberal Democratic Party is the party in Japan. These parties are called “small governments” that prioritize individuals and tolerate disparities.
・Progressive / Innovative (Liberal) Political Parties: Progressive / Innovative Political Parties are parties that emphasize disarmament and welfare policies and promote the introduction of cosmopolitan and environmental protection-leading laws. In the United States, the Democratic Party, the progressive party in Japan is the Democratic Party, and the innovative party is the Communist Party. These parties are called “big governments” that prioritize the whole and demand the tax burden of the wealthy.
Next is the difference.
<Differences>
1. Voting
In the United States, when registering for an election, it is necessary to register as a voter in advance (voter resignation), and without it, the system is such that you cannot vote in the election every day. On the other hand, in Japan, there is a convenient system where you can get a voting form when you bring a “postcard” that can automatically go to vote in a city with a resident card.
2. Presidential system and parliamentary cabinet system
The United States has a presidential system, and Japan has a parliamentary cabinet system. In the American presidential system, the people directly choose the president. In addition, the members of the Congress who form the parliament hold another election and are also elected from the people. On the other hand, in the Japanese parliamentary cabinet system, the people choose representatives by election, and the representatives gather to form a parliament. And Congress chooses the prime minister. And the prime minister organizes the cabinet. By the way, this parliamentary cabinet system originated in the United Kingdom.
3. President and Prime Minister
There are four differences between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Japan.
・ While the president of the United States bears the responsibility and authority of the administration alone, the Prime Minister of Japan organizes a cabinet to administer the administration.
・While the president of the United States is not a member of the parliament(Congress), the Prime Minister of Japan is a member of the parliament (Diet).
・While the President of the United States is not distrusted by Congress, the Prime Minister of Japan may be distrusted by Congress.
・While the President of the United States cannot dissolve the parliament(Congress), the Prime Minister of Japan can dissolve the parliament (the House of Representatives*).
*The Japanese Diet consists of two chambers, the House of Councilors and the House of Representatives.
As you can see from the above, the President of the United States has much stronger authority than the Prime Minister of Japan.
4. Politics and religion
American politics considers equality under the Christian god. In front of God, we creatures are basically equal, which leads to the idea that if the people in power are too terrible, the common people have the right to rebel and revolutionize. This idea means that religious votes are important even in the presidential election in the United States, where many people are enthusiastic about Christianity.
On the other hand, what about Japan?
Japanese politics has a dual structure of authority (emperor) and power (political system). While power has changed with the times, the emperor, who is an authority, has not changed consistently from beginning to end. The emperor can approve the highest powers in politics. It is a balancer for power (political system). The Japanese imperial family is a mysterious entity and is unparalleled in the world. The emperor is said to have had a noble lineage of origin in the mythical world that continued to exist in the center of the country.
5. Election system
Finally, I would like to touch on the differences in the election system. American elections are single-seat constituencies only. The single-seat constituency system is a method of selecting one deputy in one constituency. And the one with as many votes as possible wins. This feature makes it easier to become a two-party system. The advantage of the single-seat constituency system is that you can have a stable government because you can clearly win or lose. On the other hand, the downside is that minority opinions are ignored. In other words, voters’ votes may be more likely to die. For example, it would be meaningless to get 49% of the votes and be second. In other words, this method is a strategy that enables a stable government to be organized even if the minority opinion is ignored.
Japan has adopted two methods, a proportional representation system, in addition to the single-member constituency system.
Proportional representation is a method of voting for a political party rather than voting for a candidate. It will be a multi-party system because the representatives will be given in proportion to the votes taken.
The advantage is that minority opinions are reflected, and the disadvantage is that the number of small political parties increases, making it difficult to maintain a stable administration.
In Japan’s current elections, the single-seat constituencies generally determine the outcome, so the proportional representation system is used to adjust the results a little.
<Summary and consideration>
The United States is an economic powerhouse, and many people are discussing and paying attention to its politics, especially the presidential election. I think that one of the factors is that the president’s authority and influence are strong and the system that affects the people and diplomacy has clear wins and losses, and that the winner has great power, which is different from that from Japan.
I think the Japanese political system is very well thought out, with an emphasis on “equality” of authority and power. However, I feel that the current Diet has not been able to discuss what it should be. Looking at the recent Japanese Diet broadcast, it is a place to read the prepared sentences or point out the contradiction of one political party, and of course I think that Japanese people are not good at discussion. With more than 60% * of people who cannot trust political parties and the Diet, I feel that the political system needs to be reviewed.
What do you think?
★ If you have a request for the topic of the article, please write it in the comment section. In addition, this article was created by receiving a request on the following You Tube called Shikaku World. Please come visit us on You Tube!
Shikaku World Vlog 2: The similarities and differences between the Japanese and American government.
<References>
Introduction to Politics: Genki Fujii, 2016
Mechanism of US Presidential Election: Bunkyosha, 2020https://www.genron-npo.net/politics/archives/7292.html
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