{{infobox legislature | background color | #112FA7 | text_color #C4C974 | name National Diet | native_name '''' | transcription_name ''Kokkai'' | legislature The 177th Ordinary Session | coa_pic Go-shichi no kiri crest 2.svg | coa_res 270px | house_type Bicameral | houses House of Representatives House of Councillors | leader1_type Speaker of the Representatives | leader1 Takahiro Yokomichi | party1 DPJ | election1 16 September 2009 | leader2_type Speaker of the Councillors | leader2 Takeo Nishioka | party2 DPJ | election2 7 August 2007 | members 722 480 (House of Representatives) 242 (House of Councillors) | house1 House ofRepresentatives | house2 House ofCouncillors | structure1 45th House of Representatives of Japan seat composition.svg | structure1_res 270px | structure2 2010-2013 House of Councillors of Japan seat composition.svg | structure2_res 270px | political_groups1 | political_groups2 | committees1 | committees2 | joint_committees | voting_system1 | voting_system2 | last_election1 30 August 2009 (45th) | last_election2 11 July 2010 (22nd) | session_room Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg | session_res 270px | meeting_place National Diet Building, Nagatachō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | website House of Representatives - official website House of Councillors - official website | footnotes }} |
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The houses of the diet are elected under a parallel voting system. This means that the seats to be filled in any given election are divided into two groups, each elected by a different method; the main difference between the houses is in the sizes of the two groups and how they are elected. Voters are also asked to cast two votes: one for an individual candidate in a constituency, and one for a party list. Any national of Japan at least twenty years of age (the age of majority in Japan) may vote in these elections. Japan's parallel voting system is not to be confused with the Additional Member System used in many other nations.
The Constitution of Japan does not specify the number of members of each house of the Diet, the voting system, or the necessary qualifications of those who may vote or be returned in parliamentary elections, thus allowing all of these things to be determined by law. However it does guarantee universal adult suffrage and a secret ballot. It also insists that the electoral law must not discriminate in terms of "race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income".
Generally, the election of Diet members is controlled by statutes passed by the Diet. Because the Liberal Democratic Party has controlled Japan for most of its postwar history, and gains much of its support from rural areas, rural areas generally have more representation in the Diet than do urban areas. The Supreme Court of Japan began exercising judicial review of apportionment laws following the ''Kurokawa'' decision of 1976, invalidating an election in which one district in Hyōgo Prefecture received five times the representation of another district in Osaka Prefecture. The Supreme Court has since indicated that the highest electoral imbalance permissible under Japanese law is 3:1, and that any greater imbalance between any two districts is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. In recent elections the malapportionement ratio amounted to 4.8 in the House of Councillors (census 2005: Ōsaka/Tottori; election 2007: Kanagawa/Tottori) and 2.3 in the House of Representatives (election 2009: Chiba 4/Kōchi 3).
Candidates for the lower house must be 25 years old or older and 30 years or older for the upper house. All candidates must be Japanese nationals. Under Article 49 of Japan's constitution, Diet members are paid about ¥1.3 million a month in salary. Each lawmaker is entitled to employ three secretaries with taxpayer funds, free train tickets, and four round-trip airplane tickets a month to enable them to travel back and forth to their home districts.
In most circumstances, in order to become law a bill must be first passed by both houses of the Diet and then promulgated by the Emperor. This role of the Emperor is similar to the Royal Assent in some other nations; however, the Emperor cannot refuse to promulgate a law and therefore his legislative role is merely a formality.
The House of Representatives is the more powerful chamber of the Diet. While the House of Representatives cannot usually overrule the House of Councillors on a bill, the House of Councillors can only delay the adoption of a budget or a treaty that has been approved by the House of Representatives, and the House of Councillors has almost no power at all to prevent the lower house from selecting any Prime Minister it wishes. Furthermore, once appointed it is the confidence of the House of Representatives alone that the Prime Minister must enjoy in order to continue in office. The House of Representatives can overrule the upper house in the following circumstances:
If a bill is adopted by the House of Representatives and then either rejected, amended or not approved within 60 days by the House of Councillors, then the bill will become law if again adopted by the House of Representatives by a majority of at least two-thirds of members present. If both houses cannot agree on a budget or a treaty, even through the appointment of a joint committee of the Diet, or if the House of Councillors fails to take final action on a proposed budget or treaty within 30 days of its approval by the House of Representatives, then the decision of the lower house is deemed to be that of the Diet.
The presence of one third of the membership of either house constitutes a quorum and deliberations are in public unless at least two-thirds of those present agree otherwise. Each house elects its own presiding officer who exercises the casting vote in the event of a tie. Members of each house have certain protections against arrest while the Diet is in session and words spoken and votes cast in the Diet enjoy parliamentary privilege. Each house of the Diet determines its own standing orders and has responsibility for disciplining its own members. A member may be expelled, but only by a two-thirds majority vote. Every member of the Cabinet has the right to appear in either house of the Diet for the purpose of speaking on bills, and each house has the right to compel the appearance of Cabinet members.
Japan's first modern legislature was the established by the Meiji Constitution in force from 1889 to 1947. The Meiji Constitution was adopted on February 11, 1889 and the Imperial Diet first met on November 29, 1890 when the document entered into operation. The Diet consisted of a House of Representatives and a . The House of Representatives was directly elected, if on a limited franchise; universal adult male suffrage was introduced in 1925. The House of Peers, much like the British House of Lords, consisted of high ranking nobles. The word ''diet'' derives from Latin and was a common name for an assembly in medieval Germany. The Meiji constitution was largely based on the form of constitutional monarchy found in nineteenth century Prussia and the new Diet was modeled partly on the German Reichstag and partly on the British Westminster system. Unlike Japan's modern constitution, the Meiji constitution granted a real political role to the Emperor, although in practice the Emperor's powers were largely directed by a group of oligarchs called the ''genrō''.
To become law or bill, a constitutional amendment had to have the assent of both the Diet and the Emperor. This meant that while the Emperor could no longer legislate by decree he still had a veto over the Diet. The Emperor also had complete freedom in choosing the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and so, under the Meiji constitution, Prime Ministers often were not chosen from and did not enjoy the confidence of the Diet. The Imperial Diet was also limited in its control over the budget. While the Diet could veto the annual budget, if no budget was approved the budget of the previous year continued in force.
The proportional representation system for the House of Councillors, introduced in 1982, was the first major electoral reform under the postwar constitution. Instead of choosing national constituency candidates as individuals, as had previously been the case, voters cast ballots for parties. Individual councillors, listed officially by the parties before the election, are selected on the basis of the parties' proportions of the total national constituency vote. The system was introduced to reduce the excessive money spent by candidates for the national constituencies. Critics charged, however, that this new system benefited the two largest parties, the LDP and the Japan Socialist Party, which in fact had sponsored the reform.
Category:1889 establishments in Japan Japan Japan
ar:برلمان اليابان ast:Dieta de Xapón ca:Dieta del Japó de:Kokkai es:Dieta de Japón eu:Kokkai fr:Diète du Japon gl:Kokkai ko:일본 국회 hr:Kokkai id:Parlemen Jepang it:Dieta Nazionale del Giappone ka:იაპონიის პარლამენტი lt:Kokkai hu:Japán Országgyűlés ms:Diet Jepun nl:Kokkai ja:国会 (日本) no:Japans riksdag nn:Den japanske nasjonalforsamlinga pl:Zgromadzenie Narodowe (Japonia) pt:Dieta do Japão ro:Dieta Japoniei ru:Парламент Японии fi:Japanin parlamentti sv:Japans parlament tl:Diet ng Hapon uk:Парламент Японії vi:Quốc hội Nhật Bản zh-classical:日本國會 zh:國會 (日本)This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Catherine |
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title | Duchess of Cambridge (more) |
imgw | 200px |
full name | Catherine Elizabeth |
house | House of Windsor |
spouse | Prince William, Duke of Cambridge |
father | Michael Francis Middleton |
mother | Carole Elizabeth (née Goldsmith) |
birth date | January 09, 1982 |
birth place | Reading, Berkshire, England |
religion | Anglican (Church of England) }} |
Prior to the wedding, Catherine attended many high-profile royal events. Once their relationship became public, Catherine received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that she and William would eventually marry. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey.
Catherine was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 and christened at St Andrew's Bradfield, Berkshire on 20 June 1982. She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth Middleton (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant and now part-owner of Party Pieces, a private company with an estimated worth of £30 million, and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways, currently also an owner of Party Pieces. Her parents married on 21 June 1980, at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and in 1987, founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Her siblings are Philippa "Pippa" Charlotte and James Middleton. The family has complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Catherine's engagement.
Catherine's paternal family came from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work. Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer. Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.
Catherine's parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984, to September 1986, where Catherine went to an English language nursery school, before returning to their home in Berkshire. After her return from Amman, Catherine was educated at St Andrew's School near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire, followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where she met William. She graduated with an MA (2:1 Hons) in the History of Art.
No engagement was forthcoming and Catherine was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Catherine's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Catherine's lawyers, who threatened legal action. Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes ''The Times'' and ''The Sun'', and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of ''The Guardian'', decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her. Catherine attended at least one event as an official royal guest, William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. In December 2007, it was reported that Catherine had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London. Clarence House later denied this.
On 17 May 2008, Catherine attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend. On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS ''Iron Duke''. In 2010, Catherine pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009. Catherine obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs.
The original report in ''The Sun'' quoted a "close friend of the couple" as saying that Catherine felt William had not been paying her enough attention. The paper highlighted reports that William had been spending time with other young women and said the Prince, aged 24 at the time of the split, felt he was too young to marry. A report in the ''Daily Mail'' blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to "hurry along" a marriage announcement, and William's desire to enjoy his bachelor status within his Army career. The ''Mail'' also suggested that a friend of William encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Catherine had "expected too much" in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.
In June 2007, Catherine and William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation. Catherine and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and William sat two rows apart. The couple were subsequently seen together in public on a number of occasions and several news sources, including the BBC and the ''Daily Mail'', stated that they had "rekindled their relationship". Catherine also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral and attended the wedding of William's cousin, Peter Phillips, even though William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008, Catherine accompanied William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. On 16 June 2008, Catherine attended William's investiture into the Order of the Garter, along with the Royal Family.
In May 2011, shortly after the wedding, and while Prince Charles was in official visit to the United States, Clarence House announced that the Duke and Duchess would visit California after their Canadian tour. It was the Duchess of Cambridge's first visit to the United States.
She recently handed out medals to the members of the Irish Guards. Catherine visited the Canadian Museum of Civilization to attend a citizenship ceremony, on 1 July 2011 in Gatineau, Canada. The newly married Royal Couple were on the second day of their first joint overseas tour. They were joined by thousands of Canadians taking part in the Canada Day celebrations, which mark Canada’s 144th Birthday.
name | The Duchess of Cambridge |
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dipstyle | Her Royal Highness |
offstyle | Your Royal Highness |
altstyle | Ma'am }} |
Catherine's full title and style is ''Her Royal Highness Princess William Arthur Philip Louis, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus''.
Unlike the majority of royal brides, and in contrast to most previous consorts-in-waiting for over 350 years, Catherine does not come from a royal or aristocratic background. On the morning of their wedding day on 29 April 2011, at 8:00 am, officials at Buckingham Palace announced that in accordance with royal tradition and on recognition of the day by the Queen, Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.
Notes | The Duchess bears the arms of her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, impaled with her own arms. Catherine's coat of arms is based on those of her father Michael Middleton, which was granted to him by the College of Arms on the 19 April 2011. Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, the senior officer of the College of Arms, helped the family with the design. |
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Adopted | 19 April 2011 |
Coronet | Coronet of a child of the Heir Apparent |
Escutcheon | Quarterly 1st and 4th Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langed Azure (England), 2nd Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second (Scotland), 3rd Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland), the whole differenced with a label of three points Argent with the central point charged with an escallop Gules (Prince William); Impaled with a shield per pale Azure and Gules, a chevron Or, cotised Argent, between three acorns slipped and leaved Or (Middleton). |
Symbolism | right|100px The dividing line (between two colours) down the centre is a canting of the name 'Middle-ton'. The acorns (from the oak tree) are a traditional symbol of England and a feature of west Berkshire, where the family have lived for 30 years. The three acorns also denote the family's three children. The gold chevron in the centre of the arms is an allusion to Carole Middleton's maiden name of Goldsmith. The two white chevronels (narrow chevrons above and below the gold chevron) symbolise peaks and mountains, and the family's love of the Lake District and skiing. |
Previous versions | Her previous coat of arms depicted a lozenge shaped shield of arms which hangs from a blue ribbon, this symbolised her unmarried state. This version of the arms is now used only by her sister Pippa as it denotes an unmarried daughter of their father Michael Middleton. }} |
In his original publication of Middleton's ancestry, Reitwiesner uncovered circumstantial evidence, that has since been disproved, suggesting that Catherine and William were twelfth cousins once removed with common descent from Sir Thomas Leighton and Elizabeth Knollys, the latter a cousin once removed of Elizabeth I.
A second TV Movie is also being produced that covers much the same ground as "William & Kate". That movie titled ''William & Catherine: A Royal Romance'' stars Alice St. Clair as Kate Middleton and Dan Amboyer as Prince William. Of note in this second television movie is the appearance of Jane Alexander as Queen Elizabeth and ''Alias'' alum Victor Garber as Prince Charles. According to The Hollywood Reporter the movie is scheduled to air August 27, 2011 in the United States on the Hallmark Channel. The movie was filmed in Bucharest.
in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland
Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews Category:British baronesses Category:British countesses Category:British duchesses by marriage Category:British princesses by marriage Category:English Anglicans Category:English socialites Category:House of Windsor Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family Category:Old Marlburians Category:Old St Andrews Category:People from Bucklebury Category:Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
af:Catherine, Hertogin van Cambridge ar:كاثرين دوقة كامبريدج an:Catarina de Cambridge az:Ketrin, Kembric hersoginyası be:Кэтрын, герцагіня Кембрыджская bcl:Kate Middleton bs:Catherine Middleton br:Catherine, dugez Cambridge bg:Кейт Мидълтън ca:Caterina, Duquessa de Cambridge cs:Catherine, vévodkyně z Cambridge cbk-zam:Kate Middleton cy:Catherine, Duges Caergrawnt da:Catherine, hertuginde af Cambridge de:Catherine Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of Cambridge et:Catherine, Cambridge'i hertsoginna el:Αικατερίνη, Δούκισσα του Κέμπριτζ es:Catalina de Cambridge eo:Kate Middleton eu:Katalina Cambridgekoa fa:کاترین میدلتون fr:Catherine Middleton fy:Catherine, Hartoginne fan Cambridge ga:Kate Middleton gl:Catalina de Cambridge ko:케임브리지 공작 부인 캐서린 hy:Քեյթ Միդլթոն hi:कैथरीन एलिज़ाबेथ मिडिलटन hr:Catherine, vojvotkinja od Cambridgea ilo:Kate Middleton id:Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge ie:Kate Middleton is:Katrín, hertogaynja af Cambridge it:Catherine Middleton he:קתרין, דוכסית קיימברידג' jv:Catherine Elizabeth Middleton kn:ಕ್ಯಾಥರಿನ್ ಮಿಡ್ಲ್ಟನ್ lv:Katrīna, Kembridžas hercogiene lt:Catherine, Kembridžo kunigaikštienė hu:Katalin cambridge-i hercegné mk:Кетрин (војвотка од Кембриџ) mt:Catherine Middleton mr:केंब्रिजची डचेस कॅथरीन ms:Catherine, Duchess Cambridge nl:Catherine Middleton ne:क्याथरीन, क्यामब्रिज की रानी ja:キャサリン (ケンブリッジ公爵夫人) no:Catherine, hertuginne av Cambridge nn:Catherine, hertuginne av Cambridge oc:Kate Middleton uz:Catherine Middleton pag:Kate Middleton pnb:کیتھرین ماؤنٹبیٹن ونڈسر pl:Katarzyna, księżna Cambridge pt:Catherine, Duquesa de Cambridge ro:Catherine, Ducesă de Cambridge ru:Кэтрин, герцогиня Кембриджская scn:Catirina Middleton simple:Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge si:කේට් මිඩ්ල්ටන් sr:Кетрин, војвоткиња од Кембриџа fi:Catherine, Cambridgen herttuatar sv:Catherine, hertiginna av Cambridge tl:Catherine, Dukesa ng Cambridge ta:கேட் மிடில்டன் th:แคเธอริน ดัชเชสแห่งเคมบริดจ์ tr:Cambridge Düşesi, Catherine uk:Кетрін, герцогиня Кембриджська vi:Catherine, Công nương Cambridge war:Kate Middleton zh:凱薩琳 (劍橋公爵夫人)This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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