The National Diet Building

It's time to learn everyone, today's going to be an informative post about Japan's government and their legislative building. Can there be something further from fashion and cute things? Haha, even I feel it's a bit hard to write about this, but it's good to know about foreign countries' governmental systems. Further if you have interest in Japan this may be something new to learn XD

 

An elementary group finishing their tour of the Diet Building

 

The front entrance of the Diet Building, if you're here you're on the wrong side to start the tour

The government system, The National Diet 国会 Kokkai, of Japan is a bicameral legislature, meaning a government that has two parliamentary chambers. The Diet is comprised of a lower house, House of Representatives, and a upper house, House of Councilors. Diet members are elected by voting, and are responsible for selecting the prime minister.

The National Diet was first convened in 1889 as the Imperial Diet, since that was the Meiji era. After WWII, the Diet was reformed into it's current system under the postwar constitution. The place where the National Diet convenes to run the country is the National Diet Building 国会議事堂, Kokkai-gijidō which is located in Nagatacho Tokyo.

 

A model of inside the Diet Building, actually from a museum nearby haha

The current National Diet Building that we can see today was completed in 1936, made almost entirely of Japanese materials. Plans to build the National Diet Building were conceived all the way back to the late 1880s. The first two buildings did not resemble the current building, which was selected through a public design competition.

 

By the time I finished the tour it was already getting dark

For the longest time I had wanted to visit the Diet Building, and I will tell you why. It's not because I am a social science major, or that I have interest in architecture. It's because the Diet Building is featured prominently in the manga X. Yes! I am such a nerd, but X is my most favorite manga ever.

I was able to take one of the tours of the inside of the Diet Building, and it had some very lovely rooms and architectural features inside. But some parts looked like a run down hotel from the 80s.... Anyhow the tour was all in Japanese so I didn't learn anything and I wasn't sure when I could take photos...

 

The National Diet Building

Well what more can I say about something so political? haha. It is a nice place to visit to balance out shopping, temples, shrines etc. But as much as I enjoyed finally seeing it up close, I can understand it might be totally boring to others haha XD