activity 1Comparative Analysis of Two Governments
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There once was a boy named Harry. He was fascinated with the politics of different countries. He loved to read all about the different systems and compositions. Coincidently, he also enjoyed watching Japanese animation and reading Japanese stories.
“Why not put my two hobbies together?!” he said one day. He hastily went online to google “The Japanese Government”. He clicked the first link on sight. It was titled, “National Diet”.
“What, a diet? I’m searching for the government, not the diet!” he exclaimed confusingly. He glanced at the first sentence, and then it made sense. ‘The National Diet, or “Kokkai”, is Japan’s system of legislature’.
“Ohhh…” he sighed, now filled with enthusiasm to read on. His eyes went from left to right, right to left, reading every word on the page. As he read, his eyes also widened. He was surprised at the many differences and similarities it shared with Australia’s system of Government. He continued to read on.
“Why not put my two hobbies together?!” he said one day. He hastily went online to google “The Japanese Government”. He clicked the first link on sight. It was titled, “National Diet”.
“What, a diet? I’m searching for the government, not the diet!” he exclaimed confusingly. He glanced at the first sentence, and then it made sense. ‘The National Diet, or “Kokkai”, is Japan’s system of legislature’.
“Ohhh…” he sighed, now filled with enthusiasm to read on. His eyes went from left to right, right to left, reading every word on the page. As he read, his eyes also widened. He was surprised at the many differences and similarities it shared with Australia’s system of Government. He continued to read on.
• ‘…the Japanese Diet consists of a lower house called the House of Representatives…’
“Oh, oh, the house of Representatives! We have that in Australia too!” Harry exclaimed in excitement.
• ‘..it also consists of an upper house, called the House of Councillors…’
“That’s something different!” he said in fascination.
• ‘…both houses are elected under parallel voting systems. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is also responsible for selecting the Prime Minister’
“Woah, cool!” Harry exclaimed. He wanted to get into more detail, so Harry made the decision to click the “more detail” button on the webpage. A whole lot of information popped up, awaiting Harry’s eyes to meet it.
“Oh, oh, the house of Representatives! We have that in Australia too!” Harry exclaimed in excitement.
• ‘..it also consists of an upper house, called the House of Councillors…’
“That’s something different!” he said in fascination.
• ‘…both houses are elected under parallel voting systems. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is also responsible for selecting the Prime Minister’
“Woah, cool!” Harry exclaimed. He wanted to get into more detail, so Harry made the decision to click the “more detail” button on the webpage. A whole lot of information popped up, awaiting Harry’s eyes to meet it.
• ‘…the houses of the Diet are elected by a parallel voting system. Voters are asked to cast two votes: one for an individual candidate, and one for a party list. Any national of Japanese must be at least 20 years old to vote.”
“Woah, twenty years old? That’s really different!” Harry said.
• ‘…the House of Representatives consists of 480 members, while the House of Councillors consists of 242 members. The House of Representatives is the more powerful chamber of the Diet.’
“That’s really interesting!” Harry exclaimed.
• “Under the Constitution, at least one session of the Diet must be held each year…”
Just when Harry was about to finish the paragraph, he heard his mum calling from the kitchen.
“Harry, come do the dishes!” she said.
“Fine, I’m coming!” he replied.
Harry exited out of the webpage and sighed. He decided to continue reading tomorrow.
“Woah, twenty years old? That’s really different!” Harry said.
• ‘…the House of Representatives consists of 480 members, while the House of Councillors consists of 242 members. The House of Representatives is the more powerful chamber of the Diet.’
“That’s really interesting!” Harry exclaimed.
• “Under the Constitution, at least one session of the Diet must be held each year…”
Just when Harry was about to finish the paragraph, he heard his mum calling from the kitchen.
“Harry, come do the dishes!” she said.
“Fine, I’m coming!” he replied.
Harry exited out of the webpage and sighed. He decided to continue reading tomorrow.