politics 政治 seiji

The world’s fourth-largest economy somehow keeps itself running while maintaining the world’s most complicated bureaucracy. The Japanese call it seiji, politics.

Japanese politics 101:

• The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – not particularly liberal, definitely democratic, absolutely a party – has been in power (with almost no exceptions) since obāchan was a baby
• Prime ministers rotate faster than convenience store staff
• The constitution written in 1947 hasn’t been changed once (unlike the prime ministers)
• Elections to the House of Representatives happen every four years or more likely whenever the ruling party feels confident (or desperate)

Key players:

• Prime Minister: The person who apologizes on TV when things go wrong
• Diet (国会 kokkai): Parliament, not a weight loss program
• Bureaucrats: The actual people running the country
• The Emperor: Symbolic figurehead who appears to ceremonially approve whatever is put in front of him

Pro tip: Don’t bring up politics with Japanese people unless they do first. Most respond with a polite nod or 政治は難しいですね Seiji wa muzukashii desu ne (Politics is difficult, isn’t it?) before changing the subject faster than a Shinkansen leaves the station.