The Parliamentary System in India and Japan

1. The Parliamentary System in India and Japan

2. Introduction: Structuring Power at the National Level • Presidential system concentrates the role of head of state and head of government in one person • Parliamentary system divides these roles • Presidential system divides powers; parliamentary system fuses powers • Authoritarian regimes may use any one of these structures of government as a decorative mantle • India and Japan are both parliamentary democracies along the lines of the Westminster model

3. Presidential Systems in Asia • Presidential system implies separation of powers and the Chief Executive is elected by the voters • The French system is an example of a quasi presidential system • The Philippines and Indonesia have Presidents serving 5 and 6 year terms respectively • South Korea (President chooses Prime Minister and appoints cabinet with approval of legislature), Taiwan (President appoints premier that does not need confidence of the legislature), Sri Lanka (French system) and Pakistan (President elected by Senate; Prime Minister elected by assembly) have mixed systems

4. The Indian Parliament • LokSabha 552 members elected to five year terms from single member districts – may be extended by 1 year at a time during times of emergency • RajyaSabha 250 members with 12 nominated by the President because of outstanding achievement and the rest are elected by state legislative assemblies – 1/3 of assembly is elected every 2 years • May only delay money bills but other legislation must be approved by both houses • Cannot be dissolved

5. The Japanese Diet • House of Representatives 480 Members – 4 year terms or if government loses confidence – some are selected from single member seats and others selected from areas on the basis of proportional representation • Lower house has superior position to upper house with its decision being decisive in selecting Prime Minister; and law rejected by the upper house becomes law if 2/3 of the lower house pass the law a second time – Bill pushed through in 2008 to support Japan’s continued logistical support of U.S. operations in Afghanistan • The House of Counselors 242 Members – 6 year terms – selected from districts associated with prefectures and proportionately from a national constituency – half of the seats are filled every three years

6. Prime Minister and Cabinet: The “Government” • Prime Ministers leaders of largest parties in the legislature that make up the government or governing coalition • Ministers are appointed to reflect the nature of a governing coalition • If ministers disagree with party position, they are expected to resign; in event of defeat of government policy all ministers including prime minister are expected to resign and call for elections • Emperor appoints prime minister and prime minister may require ministers to resign –most prime ministers come from the lower house of the Diet • President chooses prime minister, who in turn selects the Council of Ministers; the prime minister typically comes from the lower house though Manmohan Singh came from the RajyaSabha

7. The Indian President • President and vice president are indirectly elected – President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of state legislative assemblies and the national parliament – vice president is elected by members of parliament sitting in joint session • People of great stature above the political fray and acceptable to the Prime Minister have been viable candidates • The office has been used to reflect the diversity of India’s community • Calls parliament into session and dissolves lower house as necessary; acts in concert with Council of Ministers; may grant pardons; assents to legislation; appoints governors of states; the justices of the Supreme Court and other high courts as well as the attorney general and the auditor general of India; and acts as commander in chief of India’s armed forces • Until Article 74 was passed it was unclear that President should defer to Council of Ministers

8. The Japanese Emperor • 1889 Constitution established emperor as possessing supreme authority but continued the tradition of the emperor reigning but not ruling • War guild of emperor clouded by this tradition • 1947 constitution has the emperor deriving his position as symbol of state and unity from will of the people – article 3 requires advice and consent from cabinet for actions – article 4 denies emperor governmental powers – emperor appoints prime minister and head of the supreme court and convokes the diet

9. Imperial Dilemmas • Controversy of using public funds for religious ceremonies associated with the Imperial house • Leftist boycotted Shinto and or official ceremonies • Right wing enthusiast threw Mayor of Nagasaki out of LDP for claiming Hirohito bore war guilt = Emperor Akihito visited Mayor after an assassination attempt against him • Controversy over succession law • Questions about amending constitution to permit a female heir have been put on the side by the birth of a son to Prince Akishino

10. Japanese Prime Ministers • Intraparty rivalries and coalition governments have produced a weak prime minister • 1945 -2008 has seen 31 Japanese prime ministers • Success in intraparty politics requires a self-effacing, deferential style cultivated by long time politicians successful at raising money and navigating the interest of various factions • Koizumi Junichiro demonstrated strong leadership but with the end of his five year term no strong leader came to the forefront • Growing strength of Japanese Democratic Party signaled a crisis of government and has resulted in more than 4 prime ministers since 2006

11. Emergency Powers in India • There have been debates about the weakness of the Prime Minister and central government as well as concerns about the misuse of power by the Centre • Articles 352 to 360 of the Constitution anticipate three types of emergency • 1. a threat to India’s security by war, external aggression, or internal disturbance; • 2. a breakdown of a government in a state • 3. a threat to financial stability

12. The Emergency • The crisis began in the political maneuverings of Indira Gandhi to defeat entrenched interests in the Congress Party by creating Congress (I) Party. She was initially successful and gained control of 2/3 of the seats in the LokSabha but severe economic problems and food shortages led to growing political discontent and in 1975 a state high court found Gandhi had violated election code in the 1971 election bringing her party to power. A mass protest called for her resignation and Gandhi called for the President to proclaim a state of emergency leading to the detainment of over 100,000 citizens without trial • The Emergency ended in 1977 when elections were called and Congress (I) was swept out of power by the Janata party

13. President’s Rule • Use of Presidential Rule • 1 assume all or any of the state government’s functions or vest these in any authority ( such as a governor) in the state other than the legislature • 2. Order that the powers normally exercised by the state legislature will be wielded by the national parliament • 3. make other provisions necessary to carry out the proclamation, including suspending the operation of the Indian Constitution or any body in the state • Political use and abuse of rule • Presidential rule declared in Punjab in 1951, 1968, 1971, 1983, and 1987 – argued to be appropriate given complex national security situation – argued to undermine normal processes of dealing with political challenges • Used strategically to undermine political parties not going along with national government policy by Nehru and Gandhi • Not used when potentially justified for similar political reasons by the BJP in Gujarat

14. Coalition Governments • A lack of a single majority party can be compensated for by the creation of a coalition government with as few as one other party or as many as a dozen or more parties • Japan’s LDP tried an unsuccessful strategy to build a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Japan after the later had won a major victory in the House of Councillors elections • The typical coalition in Japan during the 1980s and 1990s had been with the small new Komeito Party though the Socialists had led a coalition briefly in the early 1990s • 1999 Indian elections led the BJP to form a coalition under the umbrella of the New Democratic Alliance, which included 21 parties • 2004 Congress created a coalition government including twenty small parties under the umbrella of the United Progress Alliance… Coalition was broken when the Communist Party of India ( Marxist) withdrew from coalition to protest U.S.-India nuclear agreement • 1996 elections resulted in President asking BJP to form a government that ultimately failed… Introduced practice of asking for notes of commitment before asking party to build a coalition

15. Summary • India’s and Japan’s parliamentary systems share bicameral legislatures with a more powerful lower house, a fusion of powers between the executive and the legislative branch, and a dual executive with authority centralized in a prime minister • Coalition governments have become more common • Historical and constitutional factors have impacted the discretion of the Indian President and debates linked to the Japanese emperor