Japan

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. The three branches of government, judicial, executive and legislative have a system of checks and balances and separation of powers. Sovereignty is vested in the people; the emperor is the symbol of the state.1 The nations that make up Japan consist of different ethnic groups and religions. The different ethnicities include 99.4 percent Japanese and 0.6 percent Korean.2 Ethnic Koreans regularly face discrimination in housing, education, and employment opportunities. For example, they are not automatically deemed Japanese citizens at birth, and must submit to an official background check and adopt Japanese names to become naturalized.3 Religious preferences are diverse, eighty four percent of the population is either Shinto or Buddhist, 0.7 percent is Christians, the other 15.3 percent are members of other faiths.4 These religions co-exist well, and compliment each other. The people hold the power in Japan because it is a democracy. Its culture stresses people and personal relations over parties. Until about 1975 there was no question who ruled Japan; it was the state bureaucracy. After 1975, the Liberal Democratic Party was in power, but during times of crisis the bureaucracy prevails.5 After its surrender in WWII, Japan reconstituted itself and became a democracy,6 by adopting an American drafted constitution in 1947. The majority of the population considers Japan a legitimate authority. However, Japan passes all but one of the four tests of legitimacy. First, they provide results for the population, such as food, shelter, money and jobs. Second, the general population obeys laws through habit, and benefit from these laws. Third, there is a history of a stable government, even before Japan became a democracy. Religion is accepted and peaceful. The test it does not pass is the one for ethnicity, in Japan there is a very small Korean minori...