Government The Japanese government has a Constitution created in 1947. It is founded on three principles, respect for fundamental human rights, sovereignty of the people, and renunciation of war. There are also three branches of the government. The legislative or Diet, executive or cabinet, and judicial or courts.

The highest organ of state power, the Diet, is Japan's national parliament. They are the singular law-making organ of the states. There are 480 seats in the House of Representatives, 242 seats in the House of Councillors, all a part of the Diet. Furthermore, all Japanese citizens, once they are 20, can vote in election.

Diet members elect not a president, but a prime minister from amongst the group. The cabinet, from where the prime minster leads, is responsible to the Diet. Things like currency are run by the Diet. On page 21 of Choi's book, he explains the connection between the U.S. And Japan in terms of currency. [footnoteRef:1]"By the mid-1990's, the sluggish economic growth of Japan and the recovering U.S. economy, and the consequent reversal in their bilateral power relationship, made the Japanese yen weaker against the U.S. Dollar." It also shows how the United States has played a role in the political life and history of Japan. [1: Jungug Choi, Governments and Markets in East Asia (London: Routledge, 2007), p. 21.]

Japan's judicial power lies on the side of the lower courts and the Supreme courts. Courts like district, high, and summary make up the branch. The Supreme Court has fifteen justices with one as chief justice. They are appointed by the cabinet. The majority of issues in the country are handled by district courts. Japan also have numerous municipal government in Japan. They provide welfare, education, among other services including maintaining and building infrastructure.

The government of the Philippines contains three branches similar to Japan. They are the legislative department, the executive department, and the judicial department. The Congress of the Philippines makes up the legislative power. Within the Congress lies the House of Representative and the Senate. The location of the upper house is in Pasay. The lower house is in Quezon City.

Elections for Senators runs every six-year while the sectoral and district representatives are elected every three years. The president receives assistance from his or her cabinet consisting of various departments and headed by a secretary. The Commission on Appointments does secretary appointed by the president so with permission.

The Executive department holds the position of President of the Philippines. The second highest official is the Vice President and is also elected by popular vote. If the President ever dies, the Vice President succeeds him. If the Vice President leaves his/her position or dies, the President appoints someone from Congress. Validation includes three-fourths vote by the Congress.

The judicial power consists of the Supreme Court of the Philippines as well as the lower courts through law. Similar to Japan, the Chief Justice has fourteen Associate Justices. Justices serve until age 40. One thing of interest is page 61 of Choi's book, which explains the fragmentation of the Philippine's government political elite. [footnoteRef:2]"The Philippine political elite was fragmented, like its primary origin lay in civil society, not in military factions. The Philippine military never dominated the civilian sector." Because the power of election is done so through vote and rests to some extent in the civil population, possible problems may arise in terms of fragmentation. [2: Jungug Choi, Governments and Markets in East Asia (London: Routledge, 2007), p. 61.]

Economy

The economy of Japan in terms of nominal GDP, is the third biggest in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, it is the fourth biggest. Japan's estimated GDP per capita is $38,490. One of the bigger industries in Japan is automobile manufacturing. Japan makes up the world's third biggest in terms of automobile manufacturing.

Other industries they venture into are electronic goods making Japan the biggest in relation to the electronics goods industry. Presently, Japan focused their electronic goods manufacturing on precision and high-tech goods. These include hybrid vehicles, robotics, and optical instruments. The Kansai region represents one of the manufacturing centers and leading industrial clusters in the Japanese economy.

Japan acts as the globe's biggest creditor nation. Annually, the country runs an annual trade surplus with sizeable net international investment surplus. In fact as of 2010, 13.7% of the world's privately owned financial assets are possessed by Japan and worth $14.6 trillion. The currency of Japan is the Japanese Yen. A brief background on Japan's economy shows the...

[footnoteRef:3]"The Japanese administration undertook a major cadastral survey and land reform similar to the Meiji reform in Japan during the 1870s. Land rights were removed from a class of absentee landlords and transferred to the local landlords who became supporters of the Japanese regime" From there the Japanese laid down good communications infrastructure ad designed it with the objective of increasing production of sugar and smallholder rice, two items wanted in Japan. The economy then led farmers to group into farmers cooperatives, landlord-tenant associations, and irrigation associations for both to accelerate the spread of knowledge on technology and keep everything under control. [3: Robert Wade, Governing The Market (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004) p. 73.]
The Philippines economy represents the 39th biggest in the world. It is also recognized by global markets as an emerging market. The Philippines has seen some changes in the past. The world considers the Philippines as a newly industrialized country with successful transition from agriculture to services and manufacturing.

Some of this came from international investments like those from the United States. [footnoteRef:4]"Most overseas investment projects are small, in the U.S.$1 -- to $2 million range. But some large ones have also been made in petrochemicals. Environmentalist protests have driven some new petrochemical projects abroad to the Philippines and the United States." The latest GDP for the Philippines was or is $543.7 billion. Within the next three and a half decades, experts suggest the Philippines will become the sixteenth biggest economy in the world and the fifth biggest economy in Asia, the largest in Southeast Asia. [4: Robert Wade, Governing The Market (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004) p. 157.]

The Philippines' main exports consist of electronic products, semiconductors, garments, copper products, coconut oil, petroleum products, fruits, and transport equipment. As earlier mentioned the United States trades with and invests in the Philippines. Other trading partners are Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand. The country also makes up part of the Tiger Cub Economies, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. There are some problems still present in the economy however, such as growth disparities and corruption.

The Philippines must focus their efforts on reducing corruption and growing a stronger, bigger middle class. They must also continue to move away from agriculture and progress more into manufacturing. Although predictions for its economy are good, the Philippines must prepare to offset any obstacles through careful planning. They must eliminate any and all potential problems and avoid any possible recessions.

Education

When WWII ended, the Americans changed and reformed the Japanese education system. They made it similar to America's with six years of elementary school, three years of senior and junior high school, two years of junior college and four years of university. Although similar to American school, Japanese have different learning styles than that of American students. [footnoteRef:5]"We found that Japanese children spent most of their time at school working, watching, and listening together as a class; they were rarely divided into smaller groups. American children, on the other hand, spent as much time working alone as they did working together as a class." [5: William K. Cummings and Philip G. Altbach, The Challenge Of Eastern Asian Education (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997), p. 35.]

Required education comprises elementary school and junior high school. Over ninety percent of all pupils graduate from high school. Over forty percent graduate from university or junior college. At universities, the proportion of male students is greater than that of female pupils while the reverse is true for junior colleges. The amount of graduate university students remains comparatively low. School years for Japan begin in April and contains three terms, divided by short holidays within the spring and winter, as well as a one-month long summer break.

A distinguishing aspect of the Japanese school system, entrance exams, generates a high competitiveness amongst students. Most high schools or universities, including a few private junior high schools as well as elementary schools necessitate applicants to mark entrance exams. For students to succeed in their entrance exams, especially to get into to the best institutions, many pupils join special preparation schools or jukus aside from regular classes. The most respected universities are University of Kyoto and the national University of Tokyo, followed by private universities.

The Philippine education system receives heavy sway from its colonial history, which has comprised of Spanish, American and Japanese periods of rule and occupation. Throughout the beginning of…