公民的分野 - Contemporary Society, Politics, Economy and International Relations
What you must know
Start with the Constitution: supremacy of the Constitution, pacifism, and fundamental human rights (equality, liberty, social rights and participation). Understand separation of powers: the Diet (bicameral), the Cabinet, and the courts. Learn local government and elections, including single-member districts and proportional representation. In economics, study the market mechanism, supply and demand, prices, the business cycle, public finance, taxes and social security. For international relations, know the United Nations, security, ODA, trade and globalization.
Traps
Questions confuse equality under the law with equality of result, and majority rule with proportional representation. GDP and GNP are often swapped. Direct taxes (income tax) and indirect taxes (consumption tax) are frequently mixed up. Read the question carefully to see whether it asks for a definition, a reason, or an evaluation.
Worked example
A country has 100 proportional seats. Party A wins 20% of the proportional votes. Its share is 20% × 100 = 20 seats. Rule of thumb: convert percentages to decimals before multiplying, and check whether the question asks for seats or votes.
Exam habit
For policy questions, state the goal, the method and one drawback. For example, a policy may raise revenue but increase the burden on low-income households.