Representation & Participation Flashcards
In the Japanese election system each voter casts one vote for a party list and another for an individual candidate in a single-member electoral district. True or False
True
Similar to their United States counterparts in Congress, the presiding officers of the Japanese Diet function in a partisan manner in exercising their powers and discharging their duties. True or False
a
A good deal of business is conducted in the standing and ad hoc committees of each house of the Japanese Diet. True or False
True
An international treaty must be introduced first to the lower house and may be passed by that house alone, regardless of the upper house’s action or opinion. True or False
True
A proposal to amend or revise the Japanese constitution requires the consent of a majority of the members of the both houses of the Diet. True or False
False
Unlike legislators in other parliamentary democracies, Japanese Diet members normally vote strictly along party lines. True or False
True
When compared to other legislatures in the world, Japan has one of the highest representations of women in the Diet. True or False
False
The current ruling party, the DPJ, was established in 1998, from a merger of several smaller parties that were opposed to the LDP and included defectors from the LDP itself. True or False
True
The DPJ and CGP are centrist Japanese political parties, whereby both lean toward the left end of the ideological spectrum. True or False
False
The fact is that the DPJ and SDP have more intractable and disruptive factions among their party members when compared to their LDP counterparts. True or False
True
Japanese political parties are built from the bottom up with millions of grass-roots operatives and members all working to get their leaders elected. True or False
False
The highly personalized, koenkai-centered style of campaigning and fundraising in Japan is strongly admired and respected both inside and outside the country for its integrity and professionalism. True or False
False
Similar to the rules that govern the lower house in the Japanese Diet, the upper house can be dissolved by a vote of “no confidence.” True or False
False
A Japanese political campaign organization that consists mainly of the politician’s relatives, friends, fellow alumni, coworkers, and their acquaintances: a) koenkai, b) kempo, c) shingai, d) huishu
a) koenkai
The political candidate who wins the most votes in each district is elected, whether or not he or she wins by an absolute majority of the votes: a) single-count plurality, b) member-only singularity, c) single-member district, d) primary caucus majority.
c) single-member district
A system of political representation in which seats are allocated to parties within multimember constituencies, roughly based on the votes each party receives: a) constructive accessibility, b) representative diversity, c) plural accountability, d) proportional representation.
d) proportional representation
According to the postwar Japanese constitution, which is the highest organ of the Japanese state? a) the emperor, b) the prime minister, c) the Diet, d) the judiciary
c) the Diet
Why is it that the cabinet rather than the Japanese Diet initiates most legislation and in effect makes laws? a) it is mandated by the constitution, b) it is more practical and efficient since there are far fewer personalities to deal with, c) members of the Diet have virtually no staff of their own unlike cabinet ministers, d) it is the Diet that initiates most of the legislation and not the other way around.
c) members of the Diet have virtually no staff of their own unlike cabinet ministers
In the Japanese Diet, to pass a proposed bill requires: a) a simple majority by only the lower house, b) a simple majority by just the upper house, c) a two-thirds majority by the lower house, d) a simple majority by both the lower and upper houses.
d) a simple majority by both the lower and upper houses.
When an incumbent retires or dies from the Diet, the following will generally occur: a) Typically a son or a close aide will succeed the deceased legislator, b) New members are selected from a pool of party workers, c) The individual party leadership decides who will replace the member d) The parties recruit members of the economic elites to run for office.
a) Typically a son or a close aide will succeed the deceased legislator
What made the election of Renho so spectacular in the 2010 for an upper house seat? a) Renho had served years in prison for selling drugs and had now become rehabilitated, b) Renho was an illegal immigrant for Korea who beat the odds, c) Renho had previously been involved in a money-laundering scheme that went awry, d) Renho was of mixed ancestry, garnering more votes than any other elected official that year.
d) Renho was of mixed ancestry, garnering more votes than any other elected official that year.
The following party merged from the mid-1950s and for nearly 40 years dominated the Diet, up until the early 1990s : a) the Libertarian Social Federation Party, b) The Liberal Democratic Party, c) The Libertarian Democratic Union, d) The Liberal Republican Party.
b) The Liberal Democratic Party
This form of politics has characteristics that are built on corruption, preferential treatment, and inequality where a powerful patron offers contracts, protection and jobs: a) clientelism, b) autarky, c) logrolling, d) quid pro quo.
a) clientelism
What was the main reason for Japan passing the political reform act in 1994? a) to create more competitive political parties, b) to streamline the election process by limiting the growing numbers of parties, c) to assist the public with better and more reliable information about candidates and public policy objectives, d) to reduce the parties’ susceptibility to corruption due to fund-raising pressures.
d) to reduce the parties’ susceptibility to corruption due to fund-raising pressures
Elections to the House of Representatives must be held at least once every: a) 2 years, b) 4 years, c) 5 years, d) 6 years.
b) 4 years
The Japanese election system, single non-transferable vote, that was in effect from the mid-1920s to 1994 tended to: a) pit candidates of the same party against one another where the focus was constituency service, b) eliminate partisanship and achieved greater cooperation and compromise among competing party candidates, c) prevent any one candidate from winning on the first ballot, requiring multiple elections before a winner could be identified, d) compel candidates to remain ideologically rigid, unwilling to compromise for fear of being ostracized by the party hierarchy.
a) pit candidates of the same party against one another where the focus was constituency service
How many members of the House of Councilors are elected every three years? a) 60 members, b) 121 members, c) 200 members, d) 242 members.
b) 121 members
A situation in which the party of the prime minister—the government party—controlled one house but the opposition controlled the other: a) tangled Diet, b) polarized Diet, c) twisted Diet, d) obstructionist Diet.
c) twisted Diet
In what areas can the lower house override the opposition of the upper house in the Japanese government system?
a) votes on the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, b) ratification of international \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, c) and the nomination of a new \_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
a) budget
b) treaties
c) prime minister
If a bill is:
a) approved by the lower house but \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ by the upper house, b) it may still become law by passing it again with a \_\_\_\_-\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in the lower house, c) the annual government budget, it must first be introduced to the \_\_\_\_\_\_ house and may be passed by that house alone regardless of the \_\_\_\_\_\_ house's reaction or opinion,
a) Rejected
b) two-thirds majority
c) lower, upper
What does Renho’s triumphal election in 2010 speak to in Japanese politics and society today?
a) there is a growing \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and acceptance of ethnic differences among its citizens, b) the enormous \_\_\_\_\_\_ of the media, especially television, plays today. c) and the intense public \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ with the political and social status quo. d) It suggests, above all, that \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, whether political or nonpolitical, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ethnicity, gender, and tradition in today’s politics.
a) tolerance
b) power
c) dissatisfaction
d) performance, trumps
There are now five major political parties in Japan:
a) the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Party of Japan (DPJ), b) the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Democratic Party (LDP), c) the Japanese \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Party (JCP), d) the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Democratic Party (SDP), e) and the \_\_\_\_\_\_ Government Party (CGP).
a) Democratic
b) Liberal
c) Communist
d) Social
e) Clean
In the 1994 reform, the SNTV system as an electoral system for the lower house of the Japanese Diet was replaced by:
a) ______ _______ Proportional system that combines a single-member district and proportional representation system.
b) There are now 300 single-member districts in which the winners are decided based on whoever received the _____ ______.
c) The other 180 members are elected according to what is called a party list system of proportional representation from _______ regional electoral districts that have between six and thirty seats to fill.
a) Mixed Member
b) most votes
c) eleven
