Appendix 1 - Legislative Procedures in Three Nations

Summary

This appendix provides brief descriptions of the formal legislative institutions of the U.S., Germany, and Japan during the 1980s. These synopses are intended to provide readers with a handy guide to the key players and basic procedures by which proposed bills become laws. In describing Japan, we put an accent on comparison with the U.S. and Germany. For greater detail, readers may consult specialized works, such as Oleszek (1989) and Davidson (1992) for the U.S.; Edinger (1986) and Hancock (1989) for Germany; Thaysen, Davidson, and Livingston (1990) for a U.S.-German comparison; Richardson and Flanagan (1984), Mochizuki (1982), Iwai (1988); and Kojima (1979) for Japan; Nohon Kokusai Koryu Senta (1982) for a U.S.-Japan comparison; Hikaku Rippo Katei Kenkyukai (1980) for Japan in comparative perspective.

THE UNITED STATES

The U.S. Constitution of 1789 established the federal government's basic framework on principles of limited central power, the tripartite separation of powers among judicial, executive, and legislative branches, and checks-and-balances among these arenas. The president and vice president are elected to four-year terms with a majority of Electoral College votes (that is, a plurality of citizens' votes in a state gives a presidential candidate all that state's electoral votes, equal to the number of its senators plus representatives). Subject to congressional approval, the president appoints the heads of executive departments and federal agencies (his cabinet secretaries), whose responsibilities are to administer the government. The president also nominates and the Senate confirms new federal judges and members of the nine-justice Supreme Court, whose function is to interpret the constitutionality of laws passed by the Congress.