Governance & Policy-Making—Japan

Question 1

The prefectures and municipalities in a unitary state are politically superior to the state when it comes to decision-making. True or False

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In the Japanese governing system, it is the Diet that initiates most legislation and not the cabinet. True or False

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Japanese prime minister does not need the Diet’s consent to order the Self-Defense Forces to take appropriate actions in a national emergency. True or False

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Japanese cabinet is one of the weakest among parliamentary systems, prevented from promulgating laws or ratifying treaties. True or False

Answer 4

False

Question 5

Japan has the oldest surviving monarchy in the world with the reign of the first legendary emperor dating back to the mid-7th century CE. True or False

Answer 5

True

Question 6

After the defeat of Japan during World War II, the monarchy has been so discredited that it is an irrelevant, isolated institution shunned away from all public ceremonies and activities. True or False

Answer 6

False

Question 7

Because of changing times and attitudes, the Chrysanthemum Throne has adapted to the new standards allowing for the heir to its throne to be a woman. True or False

Answer 7

False

Question 8

At the core of the Japanese state are eleven national government ministries, each with virtually exclusive jurisdiction over a specific area or areas of public policy. True or False

Answer 8

True

Question 9

In the 1970s and 1980s, Japan’s government bureaucracy was greatly admired, both within the nation and abroad, as the exceptionally intelligent, energetic, and dedicated architect of the nation’s post–World War II economic success. True or False

Answer 9

True

Question 10

Although Japan provides a national civil service exam supposedly to earn an opportunity to work in a public ministry, in actuality the exams are ignored and selection is based on family connections and payoffs. True or False

Answer 10

False

Question 11

When comparing the costs to the public treasury, Japanese civil servants provide exceptional service at a relatively cheap price. True or False

Answer 11

True

Question 12

How many prefectures or provinces encompass Japan? a) 39, b) 47, c) 53, d) 69

Answer 12

b) 47

Question 13

Under the 1947 Constitution, Japan is a) both a constitutional monarchy and a presidential democracy, b) a pure democracy with a number of independent prefectures, c) both a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, d) both an institutional monarchy and a decentralized state.

Answer 13

c) both a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy

Question 14

Each house in the Diet separately elects a prime minister. If they are different people, than who becomes the chief executive? a) they must call new elections of the Diet, b) the judiciary steps in, c) the lower house’s candidate wins, d) the emperor breaks the deadlock and chooses.

Answer 14

c) the lower house’s candidate wins

Question 15

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 the party faithful in a national election, d) He is selected by backroom negotiations among leaders of the factions of LDP Diet members

Answer 15

d) He is selected by backroom negotiations among leaders of the factions of LDP Diet members

Question 16

The notable exception to achieving the office of prime minister in Japan, not based on deal-making and party loyalty and support but by his own public and media popularity for his aggressive antiestablishment, populist posture: a) Koizumi Junichiro, b) Masayoshi Ohira, c) Kiichi Miyazawa, d) Takeo Fukuda.

Answer 16

a) Koizumi Junichiro

Question 17

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) 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.

Answer 17

b) resign or call for a new general election

Question 18

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.

Answer 18

b) 125th in an unbroken line

Question 19

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.

Answer 19

d) not only Japan’s sovereign ruler but a demigod whose person was sacred and inviolable.

Question 20

Amakudari means the following: a) a practice in which retiring government officials take jobs in a public corporation or private firm that had close ties with their own ministry, b) “descending into peace” that provides government bureaucrat with a large pension, c) learning to meditate and suspend the world around us by isolation, d) requiring that all political leaders visit the shrines of the dead at least once a year.

Answer 20

a) a practice in which retiring government officials take jobs in a public corporation or private firm that had close ties with their own ministry

Question 21

What is the current mandatory retirement age for national civil servants in Japan? a) 55 years, b) 60 years, c) 65 years, d) there is no mandatory retirement age.

Answer 21

b) 60 years

Question 22

The constitution gives the Diet the power to:

a) nominate the \_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, 
b) enact \_\_\_\_\_, 
c) approve the government \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, 
d) ratify international \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, 
e) and audit the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ transactions of the state.

Answer 22

a) prime minister
b) laws
c) budget
d) treaties
e) financial

Question 23

What are some of the main powers of the Japanese prime minister?

a) he has the constitutional right to submit \_\_\_\_\_\_ to the Diet in the name of the cabinet; 
b) to exercise control and supervision of the national \_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_; 
c) and, in rare cases, to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ a cabinet member’s constitutionally guaranteed 	\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ from an adverse \_\_\_\_\_\_ action during his or her tenure in office.

Answer 23

a) Bills
b) civil service
c) suspend, immunity, legal

Question 24

Why did the Japanese government bureaucracy become greatly diminished by the end of the 1990s?

a) First, the depressed state of the Japanese \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ was blamed on the bureaucrats. 	b) Second, a series of head-line-grabbing \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ involving officials in some of the 	traditionally most powerful and prestigious ministries and agencies… 
c) Third, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ began to claim a greater share of policy-making power at the 	expense of bureaucrats. 
d) Fourth, diminishing \_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and tighter spending discipline spelled a shrinking 	war chest for bureaucrats to tap into for greasing their relationships with politicians and 	special interest groups, thus seriously eroding their influence. 
e) Finally, largely as a result of these developments, the bureaucrats themselves began to 	lose their self-confidence and sense of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 24

a) economy
b) scandals
c) politicians
d) tax revenue
e) mission