CHRONOLOGY

1994	Lower House reform adopts Bundestag features of single seat constituencies plus party list multi seat constituencies
1993	LDP loses Lower House majority and the unwieldy 8 party Hosokawa Coalition Cabinet launched but quickly fails

 

GLOSSARY

giin hosei kyoku	Upper and Lower House Legislation Bureaux	for the drafting of Private Members' Bills and their amending of Cabinet Bills
PM	Prime Minister	the PM voted by the Lower House nominates a cabinet cf giin naikakusei
Westminster Democracy (i)	representative government giin naikakusei	Lower House confidence in the PM checks executive cf partial fusion of powers