Civics - Contemporary Society and Economy
Civics - Contemporary Society and Economy tests the Constitution, political institutions, the economy, and international relations. Expect applied questions: who does what, and why.
Core rules and concepts
- Three constitutional principles: popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, and pacifism. The Diet is the highest organ of state power and the sole law-making body; it is bicameral.
- The cabinet is responsible to the Diet and exercises executive power; the prime minister is chosen by the Diet. Courts exercise judicial power; the Supreme Court is the highest court. Local governments have autonomy.
- The economy is market-based with public finance, social security, and monetary policy. Japan depends on trade, energy imports, and international organizations such as the UN, WTO, IMF, and World Bank.
Worked example
A bill is submitted by the cabinet to the House of Representatives. It passes both houses; if the upper house rejects it, the lower house can override by a two-thirds vote. The cabinet promulgates it. The reasoning: the Diet is the law-making body, the lower house has supremacy in budget and treaties, and the cabinet implements laws.
Traps that cost marks
Do not call the cabinet the “highest organ of state power”; that is the Diet. Do not confuse collective responsibility with individual ministerial responsibility. Remember constitutional amendment needs a two-thirds vote in both houses plus a referendum. Do not treat the Supreme Court as a constitutional court with abstract review.