Who is the head of government in japan?

Answer 1

Japan is a constitutional monarchy, but due to certain constitutional technicalities after WW2, it is not quite like the one in the UK, as the emperor is not the head of state officially. Instead, the role is officially one of 'symbol of State'. Though this effectively equivalent to head of state in the international arena, it is legally not the same. In fact, the situation is complex - some countries have elected or government-chosen heads of state, some have representatives for the head of state that act as head of state (Canada, Australia, NZ...), some have separate heads of state and government, where only the head of government has real power (the UK...) - or sometimes power is shared between them (France, Russia). Some are parliamentary democracies where the head of state is the head of government too (South Africa), and, for instance, many non-parliamentary democracies like the US have both roles in the same person. However, the term 'head of state' is quite young and many insist that, ironically, the person with real power need not be head of state, but monarchs are not either as they are symbols of state instead. This is the case in Japan. Japan has no head of state. The emperor is the symbol of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of government. Answer: According to the World Fact Book website, the Emperor of Japan is referred to as being the Chief of State. The distinction between Chief of State and Head of State is one which perhaps needs some clarification, though Chief of State would imply something more substantial that simply being a symbol. Yet, the Constitution of Japan refers to the Emperor as being the "symbol of the state and unity of the people." He acts, de facto, as Head of State, although this title appears not used to describe the Emperor.