One facet of working in the\nworld of Japan Public Affairs is being a frequent visitor into Japan\u2019s National\nDiet. The hustle-and-bustle of politics never feels closer than when you\u2019re dining\nwith a Councilor in the sushi restaurant in the basement of the Main Building\nor passing through phalanxes of megaphone-blaring protestors as you meander\nbetween the three office buildings behind the Main Building that house 722\noffices, one for every Diet Member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Diet Main Building kokkai-gijido<\/em> is both one of Tokyo\u2019s\nmost recognizable buildings as well as one of the least accessible. Since I am fortunate to have been able to\nwalk the halls extensively over the years, first in 1982 when I was a secretary\nfor Sen. Taro Nakayama, and henceforth later as it became a component of my\nbusiness, I thought a firsthand review of the Japan National Diet Building\nmight be interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entering<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Buildings that house\nParliaments, Congresses, and other such deliberative bodies around the world\nare commonly designed with a focus on nation branding. In the days before GDP\nfigures and nuclear warheads, mammoth imposing buildings were one important way\nof showing the power, influence, and importance of a country and its government.\nJapan\u2019s National Diet Building closely follows this narrative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Designed to be massive and\ncommanding with no expense spared, construction of the National Diet Building\nwas so expensive that it nearly bankrupted the country during the 16 years of\nconstruction that led up to its completion in 1936. This is endemic of the\nstrategy employed by Japan\u2019s leadership in the prewar Showa Era with the objective\nof molding Japan into a world superpower. \nThis was the third parliamentary structure, the first two were built in\nthe adjacent area that is now known as Hibiya Park were wooden structures that\nboth burned to the ground in massive fires that were unfortunately commonplace\nin Meiji era Tokyo. The first one, in fact, burned down within a year of\ncompletion!<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this background, one of the\nmost splendorous parts of the building is the Main Approach with the massive\ncircular driveway. And what an entryway it is! To paraphrase a particularly apt\nquotation, \u201cFrom the beautiful avenue of gingko\ntrees running from Ginza to Sakuradamon, the National Diet of Japan stands on a\nhill keeping with the Diet\u2019s position as the political center of the nation.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Made almost completely from\nJapan-sourced materials, from the dominating columns at its front, to the\ndistinctive fa\u00e7ade that was purposefully simplified from a previous Italian\nRenaissance-esque design because it looked \u201ctoo Western,\u201d the National Diet Building\nis a resplendent beauty of the few pre-War buildings that still exist in Tokyo. In fact, while all of Kasumigaseki including\nShinagawa all the way to Nihonbashi and beyond were an ashen heap by August\n1945, the National Diet Compound and the Imperial Palace were intentionally\nuntouched by aerial bombings that smothered Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The massive bronze doors that\nguard the building\u2019s Central Entrance are only used on a few rare occasions:\nthe arrival of the Emperor, State Guests on official visits, and convocation day\nfor newly elected Diet Members. \nApproximately 8% of the construction cost of the entire complex was\ndevoted to areas for exclusive use by the Emperor, and facilitating these rare\nspecial occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roll Call<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Diet Members are not without\ntheir duties. Upon entering the Diet Building, they are tasked with \u201csigning\nin\u201d by pressing a button underneath their name on a large signboard. You may\nnotice signs of age on some of the longer-serving Members\u2019 name placards, but\nthat is a story for a different time. Also of interest is the gilded chrysanthemum<\/em> lapel badge that each Member wears: if they\nare not wearing the badge when signing in, they cannot enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are multiple\nentrances into the building, separate for Members of the House of Councilors and\nHouse of Representatives, one will find these backlit boards in predominant\nareas and all Diet member entrances. These are wired to ensure that any MP\u2019s\npresence or absence is known throughout his or her House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Splendor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is nothing subdued or even\nremotely subtle about the building\u2019s interior design. It is truly magnificent. The\nCentral Hall features murals of Japan\u2019s Four Seasons, extensive use of stained\nglass, and all-marble floors. In a sense it seems un-Japanese due to the\nflourishes of uncompromised and grand opulence throughout. To replicate this building in the present day\nwould be impossible: not only are the raw materials no longer in existence in\nenough quantity in Japan, but the master craftsmen no longer exist either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another interesting feature of\nthe Central Hall are the statues that mark each of its four corners directly\nunder the pyramid-shaped central roof. Four pedestals stand, but only three\nstatues stand atop them. The fourth pedestal stands permanently empty as a\nreminder of the potential for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chambers of the House of\nRepresentatives and House of Councilors both feature semicircular seating facing\ntoward a main podium. The Prime Minister\u2019s seat is notably below that of the Speaker.\nYet the two houses are not completely the same: in the (Upper) House of\nCouncilors exists an elaborate throne. \nThis throne is to occupied only by the Emperor, and only during the convocation\nceremony. This is because the Emperor,\nthough constitutionally the ceremonial head of state and the symbol of the\nJapanese people, is restricted from participating in politics according to the\nJapanese Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an aside, the Emperor of Japan\nis the world\u2019s only reigning monarch bearing the title \u201cEmperor\u201d and is also\nthe head of the longest surviving unbroken hereditary monarchy in human\nhistory, far surpassing even that of Egyptian pharaohs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Combined with the always-surprising\nnature of debate and intrigue swirling about the place, every visit to the\nNational Diet of Japan is one with a uniquely fresh and invigorating flavor. There is tremendous history and tradition\nembellished within the walls and in the way that business is conducted in this\nhouse of democracy. I love to give first\ntime visitors a guided tour through it whenever I get the chance.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One facet of working in the world of Japan Public Affairs is being a frequent visitor into Japan\u2019s National Diet. The hustle-and-bustle of politics never feels closer than when you\u2019re dining with a Councilor in the sushi restaurant in the basement of the Main Building or passing through phalanxes of megaphone-blaring protestors as you meander between the three office buildings behind the Main Building that house 722 offices, one for every Diet Member.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-affairs"],"yoast_head":"\n