Government, Executive

Executive power in Japan is vested in a cabinet, headed by a prime minister. The prime minister is elected by the Diet and typically is the leader of the majority party in the Diet. The prime minister has the power to appoint and dismiss other cabinet members. If the Diet passes a vote of no confidence, the prime minister must either resign or dissolve the lower house of the Diet and hold a new general election in hopes of winning majority support in the legislature. In addition to the prime minister, the cabinet consists of the heads of 12 ministries and the directors of 9 administrative agencies.