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48-634: Himeji is located in the central western part of the Harima Plain in the western part of Hyogo Prefecture, and is the central city of the Harima region of the prefecture. The Ichikawa River is located in the central eastern part of the city, and the Senba River and Noda River are located in the center. The Ieshima Islands in the Seto Inland Sea are within the city limits and are located off

96-477: A party-list system of proportional representation , and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies. The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system , a form of semi-proportional representation . Under a parallel system, the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the overall allocation of seats in

144-858: A unicameral city council of 46 members. Himeji contributes eight members to the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly . In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Hyōgo 11th and Hyōgo 12th districts of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Himeji is located within the Hanshin Industrial Area and Harima Seaside Industrial Areas. The coastal region is heavily industrialized, with steel mills, chemical plants, semiconductor and automobile electronics predominating. In addition, Kansai Electric Power 's Himeji No. 1 Power Station and Himeji No. 2 Power Station are located in

192-548: A " Hatomander ". The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 1956, but was never voted on by the House of Councillors. Electoral reform came into vogue again in the 1970s, but Kakuei Tanaka 's plan met opposition internally in the LDP and never came to a vote in either chamber of the Diet. Japan entered a lengthy recession in the 1990s (see Lost Decades ), which many people blamed on

240-578: A coalition with their old rivals the Socialists, whose leader Tomiichi Murayama became prime minister. As with party colleagues Ichirō Hatoyama and Kakuei Tanaka before him, prime minister Toshiki Kaifu of the LDP unsuccessfully tried to reform the electoral system in 1991. However, the Morihiro Hosokawa government got the 1994 Japanese electoral reform through the Diet, introducing a parallel voting system which went into effect at

288-537: A major political issue or controversy. One infamous example was on March 14, 1953, when Shigeru Yoshida dissolved the House and called for new election, after he name called people during a meeting of the budget committee. This came to be known as the "you idiot" dissolution . In 1955, prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama oversaw the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which since his third government has dominated Japanese politics under

336-647: A result of the 1889 Meiji Constitution . It was modeled on the parliaments of several Western countries, particularly the German Empire and the United Kingdom, because of the Emperor Meiji 's westernizing reforms. The Imperial Diet consisted of two chambers , the elected House of Representatives which was the lower house, and the House of Peers which was the upper house. This format was similar to

384-558: Is twinned or has sister city relationships with six international cities and two Japanese cities, as well as a sister castle located in France. Himeji has a particularly strong relationship with Phoenix , Arizona, as teachers from America are able to teach English abroad for 1–2 years. Additionally, the Youth Ambassador Exchange Program allows for both Japanese and American high school students to experience

432-589: Is 530,495 people. Himeji has been conducting censuses since 1920. Himeji has been the center of Harima Province since the Nara period , and was the location of the provincial capital and Harima Kokubun-ji . After the Battle of Sekigahara , Ikeda Terumasa received a fief at Harima Province and established the Himeji Domain . He expanded Himeji Castle and its castle town . Due to its location dominating

480-561: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . House of Representatives of Japan Opposition (242) Unaffiliated (2) Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The House of Representatives ( Japanese : 衆議院 , Hepburn : Shūgiin )

528-407: Is passed by the lower house (the House of Representatives) but is voted down by the upper house (the House of Councillors ) the House of Representatives can override the decision of the House of Councillors by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of treaties , the budget , and the selection of the prime minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage, but not block

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576-529: Is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan . The House of Councillors is the upper house . The composition of the House is established by Article 41  [ ja ] and Article 42  [ ja ] of the Constitution of Japan . The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by

624-609: The 1955 System . The LDP would govern without interruption for nearly 40 years until the 1993 election , alone save for a three-year coalition government with the New Liberal Club after the 1983 election . Hatoyama planned to change the electoral system to first past the post , introducing a bill to that effect in March 1956. This was met with opposition from the Socialist Party , who criticized Hatoyama's plan as

672-507: The Democratic Socialist Party became Japan's first socialist prime minister and the first since the introduction of parliamentarianism. Since the end of US rule in 1952, it has been the norm that the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives before its 4-year term expires. Only once, in 1976, did the House last a full 4 years. It has become tradition to give nicknames to each dissolution, usually referencing

720-572: The Edo period of Japanese history , the Akō Domain (fief) was part of Harima. The Forty-seven rōnin were samurai of Akō han . IHI Corporation , a shipbuilder and major Boeing engine subcontractor gets its name from the province. Harima Province was established in 7th century. During the Meiji Restoration , Himeji Prefecture was established with the whole area of Harima Province as

768-788: The House of Lords in the Westminster system , or the Herrenhaus in Prussia , where the upper house represented the aristocracy . Both houses, and also the Emperor, had to agree on legislation, and even at the height of party-based constitutional government, the House of Peers could simply vote down bills deemed too liberal by the Meiji oligarchy , such as the introduction of women's suffrage , increases in local autonomy, or trade union rights. The prime minister and his government served at

816-600: The Kan Cabinet and Noda Cabinet . The LDP and Komeito , who had formed a two-party government between 2003 and 2009, came to power again after the 2012 election . Shinzo Abe , who had previously led the First Abe Cabinet , was prime minister for another stint lasting eight years, stepping down for health reasons in 2020. When the Emperor Akihito expressed interest in abdicating, the Diet passed

864-525: The List of members of the Diet of Japan . Shaded Note that the composition of the ruling coalition may change between lower house elections, e.g. after upper house elections. Parties who vote with the government in the Diet, but are not part of the cabinet (e.g. SDP & NPH after the 1996 election) are not shaded. The Japanese parliament, then known as the Imperial Diet, was established in 1890 as

912-729: The Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of war in 1937, the influence of the Imperial Diet was further diminished, though never eliminated, by special laws such as the National Mobilization Law and expanded powers for cabinet agencies such as the Planning Board. The House of Representatives in the Empire had a four-year term and could be dissolved by the Emperor . In contrast, members of

960-612: The San'yōdō highway connecting the Kinai region with western Japan, Himeji was a major stronghold of the Tokugawa shogunate through the Bakumatsu period . Following the Meiji restoration , Himeji was the capital of "Himeji Prefecture" (later Shikama Prefecture) from 1871, which was merged into Hyōgo Prefecture in 1876. The city of Himeji was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of

1008-400: The next election in 1996 . Under this system, which remains in effect as of 2022, 300 (since reduced to 289) members of the House of Representatives are elected using first past the post in single-member constituencies, while 200 (since reduced to 176) members are elected in regional blocs using party-list proportional representation . Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi introduced a bill to

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1056-399: The third Katsura government , accompanied by major demonstrations outside the Diet, was followed shortly by resignation. Subsequently, in the period often referred to as Taishō democracy , it became increasingly customary to appoint many ministers, including several prime ministers, from the House of Representatives – Hara Takashi was the first commoner to become prime minister in 1918. In

1104-537: The Emperor's pleasure , and could not be removed by the Imperial Diet. However, the right to vote on, and if necessary to block, legislation including the budget, gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations. After an early period of frequent confrontation and temporary alliances between the cabinet and political parties in the lower house, parts of the Meiji oligarchy more sympathetic to political parties around Itō Hirobumi and parts of

1152-439: The House of Councillors cannot be dissolved. Thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the "lower house". While the legislative term is nominally 4 years, early elections for the lower house are very common, and the median lifespan of postwar legislatures has in practice been around 3 years. For a list of majoritarian members and proportional members from Hokkaidō, see

1200-403: The House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. The last election for the House of Representatives was held on October 27, 2024, in which the Liberal Democratic Party and their coalition partner Komeito failed to reach a majority of 233 seats, instead winning 215, 18 short of a majority. The House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill

1248-471: The House of Peers had either life tenure (subject to revocation by the Emperor) or a seven-year term in the case of members elected in mutual peerage elections among the three lower peerage ranks, top taxpayer and academic peerage elections. During the war, the term of the members of the House of Representatives elected in the last pre-war election of 1937 was extended by one year. In the 1946 election to

1296-542: The House of Representatives , held under the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan , women's suffrage was introduced, and a system of "large" electoral districts (one or two per prefecture) with limited voting was used. A change in the electoral law in April 1945 had for the first time allocated 30 seats to the established colonies of the Empire: Karafuto ( Sakhalin ), Taiwan , and Chōsen ( Korea ); but this change

1344-624: The House of Representatives in 2006 on changing the Imperial Household Law to allow a woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne (see Japanese imperial succession debate ), but he withdrew the bill after the birth of Prince Hisahito of Akishino the same year. The LDP once again lost power at the 2009 election , when the Democratic Party -led Hatoyama Cabinet took over, followed in rapid succession by

1392-589: The House of Representatives is not proportional, to the advantage of larger parties. In contrast, in bodies such as the German Bundestag or the New Zealand Parliament the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked, so that the overall result respects proportional representation fully or to some degree. The House of Representatives is the more powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by

1440-462: The House of Representatives would now be able to override the upper house in important matters. The constitution also gave the Diet exclusive legislative authority, without involvement of the Emperor, and explicitly made the cabinet responsible to the Diet and requires that the prime minister has the support of a majority in the House of Representatives. The Diet first met under the new constitution on May 20, 1947. Four days later, Tetsu Katayama of

1488-807: The Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There are also four private combined middle/high schools. There are also four special education school for the handicapped, one operated by the city and three by the prefecture. A North Korean school , Seiban North Korean Elementary and Middle School ( 西播朝鮮初中級学校 ) , can also be found in the city. [REDACTED] JR West – San'yō Shinkansen [REDACTED] JR West – San'yō Main Line ( JR Kobe Line ) [REDACTED] JR West – Bantan Line [REDACTED] JR West – Kishin Line [REDACTED] Sanyo Electric Railway - Main Line [REDACTED] Sanyo Electric Railway - Aboshi Line Himeji

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1536-605: The LDP. In the 1993 election , the party lost power for the first time under the 1955 System, when an eight-party coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa of the Japan New Party were able to form a government . This government fell apart after nine months, and was succeeded by the Hata Cabinet , another short-lived non-LDP government. The LDP returned to power in 1994 with the Murayama Cabinet , this time in

1584-446: The area. The northern two-thirds of the city is mainly agricultural and commercial fishing off the southern seacoast also plays a role in the economy. Traditional crafts include the production of butsudan (Buddhist altars), leather crafts, glue, matchmaking and candles. Himeji has 66 public elementary schools, 32 public middle schools and three public high schools operated by the city government and 13 public high schools operated by

1632-405: The built up areas of the city. However, the famous Himeji Castle, although blackened by smoke from the burning city, remained unscathed, even with one firebomb being dropped on it. This attack killed 173 people, severely wounded 160, and resulted in the destruction of 10,300 buildings, rendering 45,182 people homeless. Himeji has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and

1680-463: The coast of Harima Bay. The city is surrounded by the mountains and the sea. Hyōgo Prefecture Himeji has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with hot summers and cool winters. Summers are significantly wetter than winters. The average annual temperature in Himeji is 15.6 °C (60.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,254.7 mm (49.40 in) with July as

1728-402: The cultures and languages of their respective countries for 3 weeks. Harima Province Harima Province ( 播磨国 , Harima no kuni ) or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture . Harima bordered on Tajima , Tanba , Settsu , Bizen , and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji . During

1776-463: The legislation. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house. Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors , who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, while

1824-513: The liberal parties eventually formed a more permanent alliance, in the form of the Rikken Seiyūkai in 1900. The confidence of the House of Representatives was never a formal requirement to govern, but between 1905 and 1918, only one cabinet took office that did not enjoy majority support in the House of Representatives. During the Taishō political crisis in 1913, a no-confidence vote against

1872-558: The modern municipalities system. After the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake , the Japanese government reportedly considered moving the nation's capital from Tokyo to Himeji. On April 1, 1996, Himeji attained Core city status, with increased local autonomy. On March 27, 2006, the town of Yasutomi (from Shisō District ), the town of Kōdera (from Kanzaki District ), and the towns of Ieshima and Yumesaki (both from Shikama District ) were merged into Himeji. During World War II , Himeji

1920-470: The multi-member districts. Influence of the House of Representatives on the government increased, and the party cabinets of the 1920s brought Japan apparently closer to a parliamentary system of government, and there were several reforms to the upper house in 1925. However, the balance of powers between the two houses and the influential role of extra-constitutional actors such as the Genrō (who still selected

1968-517: The prime minister) or the military (that had brought down several cabinets) remained in essence untouched. Within a year of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, a series of assassinations and coup attempts followed. Party governments were replaced by governments of "national unity" ( kyokoku itchi ) which were dominated by nobles, bureaucrats and increasingly the military. After

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2016-573: The same year, the Rice Riots had confronted the government with an unprecedented scale of domestic unrest, and a German Revolution brought the Prusso-German monarchy to an end, the very system Meiji oligarchs had used as the main model for the Meiji constitution to consolidate and preserve Imperial power. Even Yamagata Aritomo and other oligarchs that had been fundamentally opposed to political parties, became more inclined to cooperate with

2064-423: The still mainly bourgeoisie parties, to prevent a rise of socialism or other movements that might threaten Imperial rule. Socialist parties would not be represented in significant numbers in the lower house until the 1930s. The initially very high census suffrage requirement was reduced several times, until the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1925. The electoral system to the House of Representatives

2112-431: The territory. Himeji Prefecture was renamed to Shikama prefecture , and Shikama Prefecture was transferred to Hyōgo Prefecture finally. Harima Sake Culture Tourism promotes the region as the "Hometown of Japanese Sake ". Iwa jinja was the chief Shinto shrine ( ichinomiya ) of Harima. [REDACTED] Media related to Harima Province at Wikimedia Commons This Hyōgo Prefecture location article

2160-529: The wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.8 °C (82.0 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C (39.9 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Himeji was 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) on 31 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −10.0 °C (14.0 °F) on 24 January 1963. Per Japanese census data, the population of Himeji in 2020

2208-556: Was a target for the United States' XXI Bomber Command as it was an important rail terminal and contained two large military zones. The first air raid occurred o June 22, 1945 at 0950, in which 60 B-29 Superfortress bombers centered on Andrea containing a Kawanishi Aircraft Company factory. The bombing killed 341 people and rendered 10,220 homeless. The second attack occurred on July 3, 1945 at 16:23, 107 aircraft dropped 767 tons of incendiary bombs on Himeji, destroying 63.3% of

2256-456: Was also fundamentally changed several times: between systems of "small" mostly single- and few multi-member electoral districts (1890s, 1920, 1924), "medium" mostly multi-member districts (1928–1942) and "large" electoral districts (usually only one, rarely two city and one counties district per prefecture; 1900s and 1910s), using first-past-the-post in single-member districts, plurality-at-large voting (1890s) or single non-transferable vote in

2304-476: Was never implemented. Similarly, Korea and Taiwan were granted several appointed members of the House of Peers in 1945. In 1946, both houses of the Imperial Diet (together with the Emperor) passed the postwar constitutional amendment which took effect in 1947. The Imperial Diet was renamed the National Diet, the House of Peers was replaced by an elected upper house called the House of Councillors , and

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