Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows how the activities of the Diet and the Congress affect the overall relationship between Japan and the United States. It explains the process by which laws are actually made in each country, bringing into focus the great difference in the role of political parties in Japan and the United States. The book proposes the role of the individual members of the Diet and the Congress. The concept of people's sovereignty is expressed in sharply different ways in the US and Japanese constitutional systems. In both Japan and the United States, the task of consensus building is extremely difficult in matters of budgeting and finance. Even in the critical areas of defense and foreign relations, then, it may be said that a prominent characteristic of the US system in contrast with Japan's is diffusion of power and responsibility.