Legislative Review in Japan
| DOI | 10.1177/002085238204800211 |
| Date | 01 June 1982 |
| Author | The Cabinet Legislation Bureau |
| Published date | 01 June 1982 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Legislative
Review
in
Japan
UDC :
340.134:
342.53
(52)
by
THE
CABINET
LEGISLATION
BUREAU
I.
INTRODUCTION
It
is
stated
in
the
Constitution
of
Japan
that
the
Diet
shall
be
the
highest
organ
of
state
power,
and
shall
be
the
sole
law-making
organ
of
the
State
(Article
41).
Laws
are
enacted
by
vote
of
the
Diet.
The
Japanese
Constitution
has
no
distinct
provisions
concerning
the
right
to
submit
bills
to
the
Diet.
Nevertheless,
it
is
evident
that
the
Diet
itself
(Houses
of
the
Diet),
as
a
legis-
lative
organ,
possesses
this
right
(Articles
50-
52,
and
Article
56
of
the
Diet
Law).
Although
there
exists
minor
negative
views,
the
vested
right
of the
Cabinet
to
submit
bills
has
general-
ly
been
accepted
because
the
Constitution
of
Japan
adopts
the
Parliamentary
system
as
the
fundamental
structure
of
Japanese
government.
Article
5 of the
Cabinet
Law
contains
the
requisite
provision
on
the
Cabinet
possessing
the
vested
right
to
submit
bills
to
the
Diet.
At
the
present
time,
as
the
following
table
indicates,
the
Cabinet
submits
a
large
number
of
bills
to
the
Diet.
Of
the
total
number
of
bills
submitted
to
the
Diet
during
the
last
five
years,
a
significant
portion
of
those
actually
enacted
and
promulgated
were
Cabinet
bills.
Table
1.
Number
and
Proposers
of
Bills
Actually
Approved
in
the
Diet
during
the
Past
5
Years
When
a
bill
is
to
be
submitted
by
the
Cabinet,
the
Minister
in
charge
must,
in
prin-
ciple,
call
for
a
Cabinet
Meeting
on
the
bill.
Based
upon
the
decisions
made
at
the
Cabinet
Meeting,
the
Prime
Minister,
representing
the
Cabinet,
submits
the
Cabinet
bill
to
the
Diet.
Prior
to
any
decisions
being
made
on
the
Cabinet
bill,
several
steps
must
be
taken:
policy-making
and
draft
preparation
by
the
ministry
or
agency
in
charge;
discussion
by
the
councils
acting
as
advisory
organs;
adjust-
ments
with
related
ministries,
agencies
and
political
parties;
examination
of
the
bill
by
the
Cabinet
Legislation
Bureau,
etc.
The
Cabinet
Legislation
Bureau
examines
the
bill
from
various
legislative
perspectives
and
plays
an
important
role
in
the
formulation
of
Cabinet
bills.
II.
ORGANIZATION
OF
THE
CABINET
LEGISLATION
BUREAU
1.
Purpose
of
its
Establishment
and
a
Brief
History
As
mentioned
earlier,
prior
to
the
submission
of
a
Cabinet
bill
to
the
Diet,
the
Minister
in
charge
must
call
for
a
Cabinet
Meeting
to
make
decisions
on
the
bill
at
Cabinet
level.
A
bill
referred
to
Cabinet
Meetings
for
decision
must
be
thoroughly
examined
to
judge
whether
it
conforms
with
the
Constitution
and
other
exist-
ing
laws,
whether
the
contents
of
the
legisla-
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