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National

National Diet

  • Japanese: 国会

Governs Japan

Official website (shugiin.go.jp) Report a problem with this page

Source: japaneselawtranslation.go.jp, checked

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House of Representatives

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House of Councillors

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What it can do

  • Sole law-making organ

    The Diet is the highest organ of state power and the sole law-making organ of the State (Constitution of Japan, Art. 41). A bill becomes law when passed by both houses; the House of Representatives can re-pass a bill rejected by the House of Councillors by a two-thirds majority of members present (Art. 59).

  • Approval of the budget and treaties

    The Cabinet submits the budget to the Diet, first to the House of Representatives (Art. 60, 86); the Diet approves treaties before or after conclusion (Art. 61, 73(3)).

  • Designation of the Prime Minister

    The Diet designates the Prime Minister from among its members by resolution, before any other business; the House of Representatives prevails if the houses disagree (Art. 67).

  • Initiating constitutional amendments

    Amendments are initiated by the Diet with a concurring vote of two-thirds or more of all members of each house, then ratified by a majority in a national referendum (Art. 96).

  • Impeachment of judges

    The Diet sets up an impeachment court from members of both houses to try judges removed for misconduct (Art. 64).

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Sources

  • japaneselawtranslation.go.jp · checked Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation, The Constitution of Japan (Chapters I, IV, V, VI), read 2026-10-12: existence, composition and role of the Monarchy, Diet, House of Representatives, House of Councillors, Cabinet and Supreme Court. English names follow the bodies' own English sites (shugiin.go.jp, sangiin.go.jp, japan.kantei.go.jp, courts.go.jp). For: National Diet
  • shugiin.go.jp · checked Official Japanese names from the National Diet, Cabinet, Courts and party sites (shugiin.go.jp, sangiin.go.jp, kantei.go.jp, courts.go.jp), read 2026-10-12: Japanese official names of authorities, offices and parties. For: National Diet in Japanese
  • japaneselawtranslation.go.jp · checked Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation, The Constitution of Japan, read 2026-10-12: powers with article numbers as cited in each description. For: Sole law-making organ, Approval of the budget and treaties, Designation of the Prime Minister, Initiating constitutional amendments, Impeachment of judges
  • japaneselawtranslation.go.jp · checked Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation, The Constitution of Japan, read 2026-10-12 (Art. 2, 6, 7, 45, 46, 58, 66-68, 79); seat counts 465 and 248 and the electoral systems from the Public Offices Election Act as summarised on the Diet sites (shugiin.go.jp/internet/index.nsf/html/index_e.htm, sangiin.go.jp/eng/). Cabinet offices: Prime Minister's Office, List of Ministers, 105th cabinet reshuffled 2026-09-17 (japan.kantei.go.jp/105/meibo/daijin/index.html). For: Member of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Member of the House of Councillors, President of the House of Councillors, Vice-President of the House of Councillors
  • sangiin.go.jp · checked Current terms from the House of Representatives roster (shugiin.go.jp 議員一覧, as of 2026-09-28), House of Councillors roster (sangiin.go.jp, as of 2026-10-12) with group and term-expiry date, Cabinet (japan.kantei.go.jp/105/meibo/daijin/index.html, inaugurated 2026-09-17; former list /105/meibo_a/ inaugurated 2026-02-18), Speakers (shugiin.go.jp English 'Officers of the House', as of 2026-10-05), House of Councillors officers (sangiin.go.jp yakuin, 2026-10-12), Supreme Court justices (courts.go.jp 最高裁判所の裁判官), Emperor (kunaicho.go.jp). Member start dates are left empty because the rosters do not give them; party is the member's in-house group mapped to its party (groups mixing party and non-party members are mapped to the party). Read 2026-10-12. For: Shinji Wakayama as Member of the House of Representatives, Aichi 10th District, Midori Tanno as Member of the House of Representatives, Aichi 11th District, Shūhei Aoyama as Member of the House of Representatives, Aichi 12th District, Taku Ishii as Member of the House of Representatives, Aichi 13th District, Sōichirō Imaeda as Member of the House of Representatives, Aichi 14th District and 710 more
  • sangiin.go.jp · checked House of Councillors roster (term expiry 令和10年7月25日 for 123 members plus a vacancy), Constitution Art. 46, Public Offices Election Act Art. 32, read 2026-10-12: next regular election, latest legal date, 124 seats up. For: General election, July 25, 2028
  • japaneselawtranslation.go.jp · checked Constitution of Japan Art. 45 and 7(iii); Public Offices Election Act Art. 31; last general election 2026-02-08 per English Wikipedia (2026 Japanese general election), read 2026-10-12: no date announced, latest legal date derived from the 4-year term. Fallback: English Wikipedia for the election date, because the House's English pages do not state it. For: General election, February 7, 2030

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