CABINET OF JAPAN

The is the executive branch of the government of Japan. It consists of the Prime Minister and up to fourteen other members, called Ministers of State. The Prime Minister is designated by the Diet, and the remaining ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Diet and must resign if a motion of no confidence is adopted by the House of Representatives.
The modern Japanese Cabinet was established by the Constitution of Japan which came into effect in 1947. A cabinet also existed under the Meiji constitution of 1889-1946. This previous cabinet was subordinate to the Emperor.

Contents

Appointment

Powers

Powers exercised via the Emperor

Explicit powers

The Cabinet (2007 to present)

See also

References

External links

Appointment

Under the constitution, Ministers of State are appointed after the selection of the Prime Minister. A majority of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, must be members of the Diet (but may be members of either house), and all members must be civilians. Under the 2001 Cabinet Law, the number of Ministers of State (excluding the Prime Minister) must be fourteen or less, but this may be increased to seventeen if a special need arises. In the event that the Cabinet collectively resigns it continues to exercise its functions until the appointment of a new Prime Minister. While in office, legal action may not be taken against Ministers of State without the consent of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet must resign ''en masse'' in the following circumstances:

★ When a motion of no confidence is adopted, or a vote of confidence defeated, by the House of Representatives, unless there is a dissolution of the house within ten days.

★ Upon the first convocation of the Diet after a general election to the House of Representatives (even if every minister will then be reappointed).

★ When the position Prime Minister becomes vacant, or the Prime Minister declares his intention to resign.

Powers

The Cabinet exercises two kinds of power. Some of its powers, while in practice exercised in accordance with the binding instructions of the Cabinet, are nominally exercised by the Emperor with the "advice and approval" of the Cabinet. Its other class of powers are exercised by the Cabinet explicitly. Contrary to the practice in many constitutional monarchies, the Emperor of Japan is not the nominal chief executive of the state. Instead the constitution explicitly vests executive authority in the Cabinet.

Powers exercised via the Emperor

★ Convocation of the Diet.

★ Dissolution of the House of Representatives.

★ Proclamation of general elections to the Diet

★ Conferring of honours.

Explicit powers

★ Execution of the law.

★ Conduct of foreign affairs.

★ Conclusion of treaties (with the consent of the Diet).

★ Administration of the civil service.

★ Drafting of the budget (which must be adopted by the Diet).

★ Adoption of cabinet orders.

★ Granting of general amnesty, special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights.

★ Every law or cabinet order is signed by the relevant Minister of State and countersigned by the Prime Minister.

The Cabinet (2007 to present)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formed his second cabinet on 27 August 2007. It consists of the following members:

Office	Incumbent
Prime Minister	Shinzo Abe
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Minister of State for Decentralization Reform, Correcting Regional Disparities, Regional Government and Privatization of the Postal Services	Hiroya Masuda
Minister of Justice	Kunio Hatoyama
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Nobutaka Machimura
Minister of Finance	Fukushiro Nukaga
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology	Bunmei Ibuki
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare	Yōichi Masuzoe
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	Masatoshi Wakabayashi
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry	Akira Amari
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister for Ocean Policy	Tetsuzo Fuyushiba
Minister of the Environment Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems	Ichiro Kamoshita
Minister of Defense	Masahiko Koumura
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of State for the Abduction Issue	Kaoru Yosano
Minister of State of the National Public Safety Commission Minister of State for Disaster Management and Food Safety	Shinya Izumi
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Quality-of-Life Policy, Science and Technology Policy, Challenge Again and Regulatory Reform	Fumio Kishida
Minister of State for Financial Services and Administrative Reform	Yoshimi Watanabe
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy	Hiroko Ota
Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs	Yoko Kamikawa

See also

★ Politics of Japan

★ Cabinet

★ List of members of the Japanese Cabinet (2003-2004)

★ Parliamentary system

★ History of Japan

References

★ The Japan Times. "Junichiro Koizumi's Third Cabinet". The Japan Times Online. Accessed 19 November 2003 from: http://www.japantimes.com/cabinets.htm

★ Cabinet Secretariat, Office of Cabinet Public Relations, Japan (2003). Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. Retrieved 28 Oct. 2003 from: http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html

External links

★ Official Website of the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinets

★ List of Japanese cabinets (in Japanese only)