Social Science Japan Journal 9:19-31 (2006)
© 2006 Oxford University Press
Checking the Center: Popular Referenda in Japan
Numata Chieko is an adjunct instructor at the Temple University, Japan Campus in Tokyo. Her research focuses on Japanese politics, especially elections.
She can be reached at Temple University, Japan Campus, 2–8–12 Minami Azabu, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106-0047, Japan, or by e-mail at numata{at}tuj.ac.jp.
Local governments of many countries have adopted popular referendum and allow their citizens to directly vote on specific laws enacted by the legislature. In Japan, however, popular referenda are heavily restricted and assume the form of indirect referenda because even when a sufficient number of signatures are filed, a proposal is first sent to the legislature, which may approve or reject the proposed measures. Moreover, in Japan, referenda are used merely as advisory tools, and legislatures are not bound by the result of the vote. Such stringent legislative control seems to render popular referenda ineffectual and defeats the purpose of direct legislation. Despite various restrictions, however, the number of both petitions and popular referenda has been increasing since the late 1970s. This increased use of referenda is in part because citizens consider popular referendum as the most useful means to express their views on important issues of public policy and in part because local legislatures consider it a new and effective tool for challenging the central government.