What is Wrong with the Japanese Diet?

As I had mentioned previously, I was going to blog about the Japanese Diet. If anybody figured it out, we are not talking about what they eat, but rather their system of government. The equivalent of the US legislative branch is called the Diet. The picture in this post is me in front of the Japanese Diet building here in Tokyo.

The system itself is actually quite similar to that in the United Kingdom. The Japan's House of Representative, or "lower house", has the power to select the Prime Minister. This would compare to the UK's House of Lords. The Prime Minister, who could be considered comparable to the US President, has the power to dissolve the House of Representatives at any time. While this is not particularly common, it is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. They say the Prime Minister could call for a new election before the end of November, at the latest.

The Japanese people are extremely anxious and frustrated by the perceived problems in the educational system as well as the obvious problems in the economy.

We spoke with Representative Yuji Tsushima, who was very candid about many things. He used to hold a position similar to our Secretary of the Treasury and has strong concerns about the global economy. He stated that the idea of the economic bailout in the US came from a similar plan that he instituted in Japan. He is concerned that it has not strengthened the economy, as he was confident that it would.

Rep. Tsushima also discussed that his house is much stronger than the House of Counselors, or "upper house", and they are not as comparable to the US Senate and House. The lower house selects the Prime Minister and sets the budget.

Rep. Tsushima talked for a few hours and I could write on his comments for just as long. However, I will leave this post with the listing of Rep. Tsushima's major issues with the Japanese people. They are not in any particular order.

Do these sound familiar?

1) Budget Deficit
2) Political Turmoil
3) Concern over the Long-Term Plan for the Japanese Social Security System
4) Likely Change in Political Establishment
5) Concern for Perception of the Educational System
6) Failing Economy