Comparative Politics 215Part III
Kesselman, pgs. 234-238, A: CP19-09
Governance & Policy-Making
The Following Questions are True or False
1. The prefectures and municipalities in a unitary state are politically superior to the state when it comes to decision-making. True or False
2. If the House of Representatives passes a no-confidence motion against the cabinet, the government must either dissolve the lower house within 10 days or resign. True or False
3. It is the Diet, not the cabinet that has initiated most legislation in Japan. True or False
4. The Japanese royal family remains sheltered and hidden from public view to a much greater extent than any of the Western European royal families. True or False
5. Koizumi Junichiro broke with tradition in making his cabinet and party executive appointments by completely ignoring seniority and factional balance. True or False
6. Once elected, the prime minister has nearly absolute authority to appoint or dismiss any cabinet member. True or False
7. The Japanese prime minister selects the cabinet without regard to trying to balance its membership with minor party coalition members since the latter have little political power. True or False
8. As the nation's commander in chief, the Japanese prime minister does not need the Diet's consent to direct the Self-Defense Forces to take aggressive action. True or False
The Following Questions are Multiple Choice
1. Japan is a: a) presidential system, b) unitary system, c) federal system, d) confederation
2. Under the 1947 Constitution, Japan is a) both a constitutional monarchy and a presidential democracy, b) a pure democracy with 47 independent prefectures, c) both a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, d) both an institutional monarchy and a decentralized state.
3. Currently, who is the sovereign in Japan? a) the emperor, b) the government, c) the state, d) the people.
4. Who appoints the prime minister in Japan? a) the people through a direct election, b) an electoral college that indirectly votes for the chief executive, c) the National Diet, d) the emperor.
5. The cabinet is constitutionally subordinate and collectively answerable to: a) the Judiciary, b) the executive, c) the emperor, d) the Diet.
6. An ordinary bill already passed by the lower house, then rejected by the upper house, may be voted on again and into law by the lower house members present by a: a) majority vote, b) two-thirds vote, c) three-fourths vote, d) three-fifths vote.
7. The lower house has the power to override the upper house in the following areas: a) the budget and international treaty ratification, b) all laws and housekeeping rules, c) investigative matters and taxes, d) constitutional amendments and resolutions.
8. During the LDP's long one-party rule, which of the following drafted most of the bills in the Japanese political system? a) civil servants, b) the Diet, c) the prime minister, d) the cabinet.
9. When an individual member of the Diet introduces a bill, what conditions increases the chances of its passage? a) if it is a partisan bill, b) if it is a bill sponsored by a whole standing committee, c) if it is a bill introduced and supported by the opposition parties, d) if it is a bill introduced by the emperor.
10. The present occupant of the Chrysanthemum Throne, Akihito is the: a) 81st in an unbroken line, b) 125th in an unbroken line, c) 134th in an unbroken line, d) the 152nd in an unbroken line.
11. Under the Meiji Constitution, the emperor was: a) simply a ceremonial figure, b) limited in his authority over the government, c) restrained by a series of restrictions enunciated in the document, d) not only Japan's sovereign ruler but a demigod whose person was sacred and inviolable.
12. Each house in the Diet separately elects a prime minister. If they are different people, then who becomes the chief executive? a) new elections of the Diet must be called, b) the judiciary steps in, c) the lower house's candidate wins, d) the emperor breaks the deadlock and chooses.
13. In practice, how is the LDP’s president chosen? a) He is elected by the Diet, b) He is selected by a secret ballot of the cabinet, c) He is selected by backroom negotiations among leaders of the factions of LDP Diet members, d) He is selected the party faithful in a national election.
14. If the House of Representatives passes a motion of “no confidence” against the prime minister and his cabinet, they must: a) fire the leaders in the House of Councilors and select new leaders from the cabinet, b) they must resign or call for a new general election, c) go to the judiciary and the emperor to identify the problem seekers in the lower house to remove them all if necessary, d) form a reconciliation team cobbled together from retired Diet members who will then select a new prime minister and cabinet.
The Following Questions are Fill-in
1. The constitution invests the Japanese Diet with the power to:
a) nominate the ______,
b) enact _____,
c) approve the government ______,
d) ratify international ______,
e) and ______the ______transactions of the state.
2. Some of the powers of a Japanese prime minister include the following:
a) has the constitutional right to submit ______to the Diet in the name of the cabinet;
b) exercise control and supervision of the national
______
c) and in rare cases, suspend a cabinet member's constitutionally guaranteed ______from ______action during his/her tenure in office.
3. The powers of the Japanese cabinet are wide-ranging which include:
a) Advising and taking responsibility for any of the ______actions that are of concern to the state;
b) Designating the ______to the Supreme Court who is formally appointed by the emperor
c) appointing all other judges of the Supreme Court and those of the ______;
d) Calling the Diet into ______session & the upper house into an ______session.
Answers
True or False Questions
1. False
3. False
5. True
7. False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. b
3. d
5. d
7. a
9. b
11. d
13. c
Fill-in Questions
1. a) prime minister, b) laws, c) budget, d) treaties, e) audit, financial
3. a) emperor’s, b) Chief Justice, c) lower courts, d) extraordinary, emergency
A:CP19-09
19-1