Politics and Government of Japan

Politics and Government of Japan

Japan, developed in 600 BC, is a nation with a protected government styled administration. In the same manner, as other distinct spots, their administration is partitioned into the authoritative branch, official branch, and the legal branch. They are named by an Emperor, lead by a head administrator, and their principal argan is the cabinet. Since 2012 Shinzo Abe has been the leader of Japan, and already, he filled in as Chief Cabinet Secretary, which makes him the longest-serving Prime Minister since the workplace was developed in 1885. The individuals of Japan love what their administration has been accomplishing for them of late. They state Shinzo Abe has caused them to feel that they have all the more voice just as made them feel increasingly ensured in their routine activities. Lately, Japan has demonstrated to be an entirely steady nation with a stable government that underpins its kin well. Shinzo Abe has had the option to make a stable economy just as settle on the correct choices for his country, which is the reason he has been in office for such a long period.

1. Politics and Government of Japan

No doubt, Japan is a democratic society; however, it is a very distinct type of democracy to that existing in most European nations such as Germany and France. The primary reason for this is the common position of one political party, the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power for more than fifty years (Neary 128).

Shinzo Abe has walked all political challenges to become the first Japanese Prime Minister with the longest-serving term since the inception of the Prime Minister’s office in 1885. Shinzo Abe holds the executive powers and irrespective of his many accomplishments in Japanese politics, a dwindling economy, an unaccomplished political agenda, and an insignificant but politically devastating corruption that has hit approval ranking imply that he might not clinch victory in the next polls (Neary 19).

His administration has not been without immense achievements. Irrespective of his status as a right-wing despot on Japan’s past and a supporter of leaving the pacifist constitution, Abe assumed into office with a mission of improving the economy of the people by establishing a program he branded Abenomics (Sposato 10). Abe enjoys higher global name identification that nearly all his precursors and has managed to put the country on the worldwide map. Mainly, he has made Japan a leading nation of free trade, a great achievement after a long period of import sanctions designed first to safeguard fledging producers and then the politically reliable farming lobby. Moreover, he revived the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was almost collapsing after the American president Donald Trump removed the United States from the twelve-nation agreement that was designed to bring a new awakening in trade and, more fundamentally, retain China. Additionally, Abe worked hard to accomplish a long-stricken agreement with the European Union, the most substantial bilateral trade agreement ever.

Even before assuming the Prime Minister position, Abe had promised to take up the challenge, reintroducing his promise on a nearly yearly basis. His primary objective was to take a step forward, reviewing the Constitution. His present mission is to have a more advanced transformation that would officially allow the survival of the Japanese Self-Defense Force. However, the force has been present in different forms since 1950 will reduced argument over the validity (Sposato 14). However, Abe has as well demonstrated a realism that has enabled him to sustain power, and he has shown a readiness to surrender on less essential projects when appropriate. He is a nationalist because he looks forward to making Japan a great country again. However, to accomplish his mission, he has been extremely realistic.

Irrespective of his majority membership in parliament, the Abe administration has had challenges in even creating an empowering regulation for a constitutional review ratified. The opposition has been strengthened by a new outrage whirling around Abe over welcoming political contacts to a formal government occasion, the yearly cherry blossom party. Although this may appear predictable, such conflicts of interest have been sufficient enough to cripple the Japanese prime ministers formerly.

The scandal has caused a significant reduction in the approval ratings for the Abe administration, with a reduction to 42.7 percent in line with the latest study by the Kyodo news organization, representing a reduction of 10.4 points for the last two months (Johnson 109-135). In ordinary conditions, this scandal would be a greater danger to Abe, but, the prime minister is more powerful than the opposition.

1. State-Owned Businesses in Japan

Japan’s State-Owned Businesses is regarded as Tokushu Kaish (special enterprises) which denotes to a chartered business that has a strong connection to the public good. Because of the Japanese administration shareholding in these businesses, they are regarded part of the government bodies. Special enterprises are developed by regulations in the form of business-specific regulation and controlled by the Companies Act. Special corporations are also subject to the management and regulation of ministers through the approach of appointments of executives and financial management. Examples of these corporations include Japan Tobacco Inc and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (Ito 4). Regarding government maintaining management in privatized State-Owned Enterprise, Japanese administration remains the main or primary stakeholders in these businesses after privatization.

1. Social, Ethnic and Human Rights in Japan
2. Women’s Rights

Japanese women had been deprived of the fundamental rights to equal status as their male counterpart under the pre-war imperial administration were given equal opportunities and rights in the political space, family life, and social activities, and for the very first period in the history when the Japanese Constitution was disseminated in 1946 (Hicks 62). Through this Constitution, Japan attained a significant economic growth by the 1980s without being directly engaged in military confrontations, though the problem war responsibility remained unaddressed and the US army forces kept on camping in Okinawa and other various parts of the country.  However, women’s real involvement in social and political activities has been maintained at a low standard because of continued prejudice against women and established gender stereotypes of man as main source of income and women as housekeeper (Kinzley 23).

Suffering and other mistreatment of women in Japan, for instance, domestic violence, rape and trafficking continues to exist in Japan under silent agreement, public tolerance, indecision and at times direct engagement of the state organs including law enforcement officers, the judiciary and immigration control administrators. Moreover, the Japanese government has failed to bring reparation and solution to the victims of such misconducts, involving the military sexual slavery during WWII. Although the Japanese government has been recommended by various international organs such as the ILO and CEDAW to solve these challenges in an amicable way, it has terribly failed to take appropriate measures until today (Kingston 221).

Violence against women is deeply grounded in continued discrimination against women and established gender stereotypes, which makes them susceptible to violence and unwilling to record criminalities committed against them. Women from marginalized communities and refugee women without permanent resident status are made more susceptible to violence, as gender-based prejudice is closely interconnected to discrimination founded on nationality and race. But the government has failed to accomplish its obligation to stop and to develop a solid and independent legal instrument, lacks political good will to appropriate measures to alleviate such discrimination and solve inequality issues surrounding women and other marginalized groups in Japan.

Violence and prejudice against women of marginalize and ethic minorities needs special consideration. They continue to experience discrimination and disregarding in terms of political involvement, work, social security, education, health care and exposure to violence, which has considerable impact on the susceptibility to violence and access to justice. Koreans forms the largest minority group in Japan and they have been in the country for many years. Although they have been victims to progressive discrimination, recently, there has been heightened pressure between North Korea and Japan, especially against those chosens-eki, those are Koreans without the citizenship of the Republic of Korea, and therefore always considered as connected with the government of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Female students of Korean learning institutions have constantly been victims to hate attacks, as they are readily recognized with their school attires. Moreover, forceful police investigation into businesses owned by Koreans or Korean institutions for the reason of insignificant offences have significantly intensified. This has considerable effects on women in nurturing and in supporting their households.

Additionally, refugee women residing in Japan continue to experience violence and discrimination, including domestic violence and trafficking. Although the administration has recently established some actions to combat human trafficking such as: stringent immigration management, along with little humanitarian aid for victims of abuse, methodically makes refugee women, especially those without permanent citizenship, susceptible to violence and mistreatment. Foreign wives are as well more probable victim of domestic violence due to ethnic discrimination and also their wobbly resident status which relies on residing together with their toxic and violent partners. Irrespective of economic and social challenges they experience, these women are essentially disregarded in gender-associated government policies and restricted access to public services. Instead, they are always targeted by policing campaigns and immigration officials.

1. Ethnic Discrimination

Recent studies by various local administrations demonstrate that the Buraku society still experience numerous challenges about employment, education and living standards. The general perception and feelings towards Buraku have become so wild and negative. There are nasty discriminatory occurrences that continue to take place, for instance, discovery of novel Buraku forms, including an electronic form that is, propaganda and provocation of Buraku discrimination on the social media. Many culprits have been sentenced for defamation in Hyogo and Aichi regions (Ramseyer 118). Cases of the exclusion of the Buraku people in the buying of assets and restructuring of school districts.

There is a myopic opinion that intensifying intermarriage between non-Buraku and Buraku people in the present times help to address the issue of Buraku discrimination. This argument is erroneous because behind this tendency are various instances of engagements being suspended and married partners experiencing strong opposition from close family members of non-Buraku partners, for instance, through decline to attend wedding ceremonies. Moreover, some partners have been barred from interacting with families of non-Buraku partners for along time even after bearing children.

Besides, there is a problematic understanding that Buraku discrimination is being addressed with the relocation of the non-Buraku people into government housing facilities in present years because of subsidized rent whereas some Buraku people with comparatively stable income vacate the houses. This perception fails to take into consideration the fact that there is a promise that those individuals who leave the Buraku society will not be exposed to Buraku discrimination. Private investigative bodies can be contracted to assess the personal backgrounds of persons by unlawfully accessing the family records to unravel (Ramseyer 261). Whether or not they come from a Buraku society. In addition, those who have relocated into Buraku community vacate immediately they realize that they are in a Buraku society. There is also anxiety that, with the aging of a great population of the Buraku people, Buraku societies may attract rising number of individuals with financial challenges, triggering more discriminatory feelings towards Buraku populaces from neighboring societies.

Japan is accomplishing the requirements outlined in the global human rights instruments in which it is a member. All of its important ministries and organs have taken a center stage in the protection and enhancement of human rights in different spheres.

Works Cited

Hicks, George. Japan’s Hidden Apartheid: Korean Minority and the Japanese. Routledge, 2019.

Ito, Takatoshi, and Takeo Hoshi. The Japanese Economy. MIT press, 2020.

Johnson, Chalmers. “Tanaka Kakuei, structural corruption, and the advent of machine politics in Japan.” Critical Readings on the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan. Brill, 2018. 109-135.

Kingston, Jeff, ed. Critical issues in contemporary Japan. Routledge, 2019.

Kinzley, W. Dean. Industrial harmony in modern Japan: the invention of a tradition. Vol. 17. Routledge, 2018.

Neary, Ian. The state and politics in Japan. John Wiley & Sons, 2019.

Ramseyer, J. Mark, and Eric B. Rasmusen. “Outcaste Politics and Organized Crime in Japan: The Effect of Terminating Ethnic Subsidies.” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 15.1 (2018): 192-238.

Ramseyer, J. Mark. “On the Invention of Identity Politics: The Buraku Outcastes in Japan.” Review of Law & Economics 1.ahead-of-print (2019).

Sposato, William. “Shinzo Abe Can’t Afford to Rest on His Laurels.” FP News, 24 Dec. 2019.