Another Day

The next day, my mom and I ate more sushi for breakfast and then mom told me some thrilling news that got me excited. Japan’s Prime Minister, Taro Aso, is in town. She said that we could go meet him after lunch if I want to. Of course I am going to go! How exciting! I haven't even seen our own Prime Minister at home, and now I get to see Japans? I'm in. I went on the High Speed Internet on the Mac computer in my hotel bedroom while I waited. I found a website that said that people could sign up for a soccer program. It is one of Japan's most popular professional sports. The other two are baseball, and Sumo Wrestling. No way am I going to sign up for Sumo Wrestling! Baseball and soccer and other western sports were introduced to Japan in the Meji Period. The Meji Period is named after the Meji Emperor in 1912. Volleyball,basketball, and rugby union are also some of Japan's sports that are sponsored by private companies. It was almost time to leave to go see the Prime Minister when someone knocked on the door. The lady at the door was wearing a purple silk garment, something that most Japanese people wear. She gave us a brochure that explained Japanese clothing to us. I guess she worked for a clothing store or something like that. It said that kimono means something one wears. It used to mean all types of clothing, but now it means the full-length garment. Women, men, and children wear the garment on special occasions. It comes in different shapes, colours, and sizes. We left to see the Prime Minister 2 hours later. We met him outside the Parliament buildings in an extremely colourful garden. He said hello to everyone and said that his name is Taso Aso, then started telling us some things about the Japanese government. I didn't know that Japan has a constitutional monarchy with a parliament government. Back at home, we have a constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation. Elections happen every four years, and you have to be 20 years old to vote. In Japan, they have 6 political parties. The Democratic Party, Japan Communist Party, Komeito party, Liberal Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party. Japan's constitution was signed on May 3 1947 and their legal system is modeled after German civil law. The Japanese parliament is called the Diet. The Prime Minister is elected by the Diet. The Japanese people elect the members of Diet. The Diet is made up of the House of Representatives, which has 480 members. There is 242 House of Councillors. Every 3 years half of them are elected. Another thing we learned about is the Cabinet. The Prime Minister leads the cabinet. It is made up of ministers that are chosen by the Prime Minister and are mostly members of the Diet. The Supreme Court is elected by the Diet. Other courts are district courts, high courts, family courts, and summary courts. That's everything I learned today.