Comparison of governments of the UK and Japan
There are several forms of government that are in existence in the world today. People from different parts of the world form governments which they believe will work for them. The different forms of governance often have their similarities and a fair share of differences. These similarities and differences are used to group them. In this essay, essay will be comparing and contrasting the nature of the crown in the UK with the form of constitutional monarchy established in Japan.
In the UK, the head of the state, currently Queen Elizabeth 2 exercises power over the state but the constitution of the land dictates the extent of her power. Her role in the state is mostly ceremonial and symbolic. She focuses mostly on the unity of the state. Similarly, the head of state of the constitutional
monarchy in Japan, his Majesty Naruhito serves a symbolic role and has no political role. He is also seen as a symbol of the state and unity of the people. There is a similarity in the role of the heads of state in these governments.
The crown in the UK is hereditary. It is passed on to the successor who must be part of the royal family.
The constitutional developments made in the seventh century dictated the basis by which the crown shall be passed on. Hereditary succession is also the case in the constitutional monarchy in Japan. It is even considered to be the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world. A succession of power is given only to people of the royal blood. Here we see similarities in hereditary succession.
In the UK, the highest authoritative legislature is parliament. The parliament is composed of three houses—the House of Lords, The House of Commons and the Monarch. The monarchy is not the ultimate power of the state. In Japan, the Diet is the highest authoritative power and the only law-making section of the state. The Diet is composed of two houses, that is the House of Councilors and the House of Representatives. The head of state is not the highest authoritative power in the state.
In Japan’s constitutional monarchy, the prime minister is the head of the government. The prime minister is also the head of the cabinet which contains a maximum of fourteen ministers, but three more ministers can be appointed if the need arises. In the UK, the head of the government is also the prime minister. Elections are held every five years, and the leader of the party that has majority seats in the parliament becomes the Prime minister.
The form of government in the UK is a constitutional monarchy. In that the head of state is not the head of the government thus does not have absolute power. The head of state welcomes the elected prime minister to form the government. Japan also has a constitutional monarchy in that the powers of the head of state, the Emperor are limited and directed by the constitution. In Japan, the government is formed by the prime minister.
In the UK, general elections are held after every five years. Here members of parliament are elected by the people. The leader of the party that wins the election becomes the prime minister. The head of state then welcomes the prime minister. Similarly, in Japan every few years, the public goes to the polls and votes for a member of the National Diet. In both forms of government, some elections are held.
The head of state of the UK, the Queen, has the power to deny approval to decisions of the elected government. Meaning the Queen is still empowered by the constitution to act against the advice of the prime minister, cabinet and the parliament. However, the role of the head of state in Japan does not give him the power to go against the consent of the elected government. He or she must follow the directives of the elected government.
The constitution of Japan states that the Emperor of the land has duties to attend. There are roles he or she has to perform, such as the opening of the parliament, attending public events and cultural events. However, the head of state in the UK has a choice to be ceremonial. She does all her ceremonial by choice since the constitution does not show the role of being ceremonial. The point above shows the contrast in the Japan constitutional monarchy and that of the UK.
The title for the head of the state of the UK is King or Queen depending on the gender. The monarch is the oldest organ of the government in the UK. However, the title of the head of state in Japan is Emperor if he is a male and empress if she is a female. The Japan monarch system is also older than that of the crown monarchy. Here we see another difference between the Japan constitutional monarchy and the UK monarchy.
The constitutional monarchy in Japan and the nature of the crown in the UK almost look similar, but at a closer look, we see the small differences in the form of government. In summary, the constitutional monarchy of Japan has no political power and must follow the elected government directives. However, this is not the case with the nature of the crown in the UK, the head of state there is still left with some political power and has a choice to ignore the directives of the elected government which seldom happens.
Reference
Hibbing, J. R. (1988). Legislative institutionalization with illustrations from the British House of Commons. American Journal of Political Science, 681-712.
Linz, J. J. (1994). Democracy, Presidential or Parliamentary: Does It Make a Difference?. The Failure of Presidential Democracy: The Case of Latin America, 3-87.