The Organizational Components of the Liberal Democratic Party 　　　There are five large organizational components of the Liberal Democratic Party. They are the Public Relations Headquarters (responsible for the Party's public relations), the Party Organization Headquarters (responsible for increasing the Party's strength and managing its Membership), the Election Strategy Headquarters (responsible for analyzing and formulating strategy for elections), the Diet Affairs Committee (responsible for coordinating the management of Diet affairs), and the Policy Research Council (the organ responsible for deliberating the Party's policies). The Policymaking Process 　　　The Policy Research Council contains twelve Divisions, one for each of the ministries and agencies represented in the cabinet. Any Member of the Party in the Diet is able to participate freely in discussions conducted there. At present, laws, budgets, taxes, or treaty revisions cannot, in principle, be submitted from the cabinet to the Diet as a decision of the ruling part(ies) without first having received the approval of the Party's deliberative bodies (the Policy Research Council's Division(s), Policy Deliberation Commission, and the General Council). Although legislation can be initiated by an individual member of the Diet in cooperation with other members, a bill that has not received the approval of this individual's political party cannot, as a general rule, be introduced to the Diet. For this reason, legislation that has not been approved by the Policy Research Council (Division(s), Policy Deliberation Commission) and the General Council cannot be submitted as a bill. 　　　When necessary, officials (civil servants) from relevant government ministries and agencies participate in meetings of the Policy Research Council's Divisions and exchange opinions with the Party's Diet Members. These opinions are reflected in prudent government policies. 　　　The General Council is the body that makes final decisions concerning the will of the Party. The Policy Research Council, especially its Divisions, is not only a forum for creating, discussing, and deliberating policy, but also serves as an approval-granting body. All of the Party's policies and campaign pledges are formulated through debates and intra-party integration of opinions that take place in the Policy Research Council's principal organs (Divisions, Research Commissions, and Special Committees). The Preliminary Review System 　　　Through deliberations on and approval of bills, budgets, treaties, and other matters prior to their submission to the Diet (the "Preliminary Review System"), the ruling part(ies) is/are better able to manage the work of the Diet in a smooth and efficient manner. In addition, when used within the framework of a parliamentary/cabinet form of government such as that found in Japan, the Preliminary Review System allows for the incorporation of diverse intra-party opinions in legislation and promotes cohesiveness between the ruling part(ies) and the government prior to its submission to the Diet. It also fosters cooperation with the cabinet in the formulation and passage of legislation. 　　　At the same time, this system is sometimes criticized because (1) it often requires considerable time to reach decisions, (2) deliberations within the Diet lose much of their function and importance, (3) closed discussions within the Party make for a deliberative process that lacks transparency, (4) it is often difficult to trace responsibility. The Direction of Discussions on New Changes 　　　The selection of Prime Minister Koizumi through an election process (a primary race with voting by Party Members) very similar to that for heads of state in countries with presidential systems of government and the growing number of people demanding stronger leadership from Japan's prime minister have fueled new discussions in recent years concerning relationships between political parties and the bureaucracy and between political parties and the government. With this, it appears not only that Japan has entered into a period of new structural reforms centered on political party politics, but that reexaminations of visions and plans for Japan's future may lead to the restructuring of political parties themselves. Divisions, Research Commissions, and Special Committees 　　　The Policy Research Council's permanent organs are divided into separate Divisions, Research Commissions, and Special Committees. Members of the Party serving in the Diet are free to participate in discussions taking place in any of these organs. There is one Division for each of the 12 ministries and agencies represented in the cabinet. Divisions provide a forum for discussions on laws, budgets, and tax systems that fall under the jurisdictions of these individual ministries and agencies. Division Directors are appointed by the Chairman of the Policy Research Council. Policies produced by each Division in its special area of expertise must be approved by the General Council. Legislation that affects the operations of multiple ministries and agencies is discussed in joint meetings of different Divisions, Research Commissions, and Special Committees. 　　　Research Commissions and Special Committees are generally the organs in which discussions on medium and long-term issues or issues that cross jurisdictional borders among different ministries and agencies are held. In close cooperation with relevant Policy Divisions, these organs debate Party policies on individual issues and formulate appropriate recommendations. In principle, the Chairmen of Research Commissions and Special Committees are individuals who have previously served in the government as cabinet ministers. Select Commissions 　　　Select Commissions are established by directive of the Chairman of the Policy Research Council and are directly accountable to him. They are responsible for discussing, debating, and producing recommendations in a limited period of time on specific issues of interest to multiple ministries and agencies of the government. Select Commissions were established for the first time by the current Chairman of the Policy Research Council, Aso Taro. Examples of these include the Select Commission on Policies for Global Warming, which reviews policies related to the Kyoto Protocol, and the Select Commission on Food Safety, which handles issues such as BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly known as "mad cow disease") and the fraudulent labeling of food products. Subcommittees, Project Teams (PT), and Working Teams (WT) 　　　Subcommittees, Project Teams (PT), and Working Teams (WT) are not permanent organs, but are instead established with the approval of the Chairman of the Policy Research Council to work for a limited period of time under the direction of individual Policy Divisions, Research Commissions, and Special Committees and assist these in facilitating more focused discussions on topics of a specialized or technical nature. Lawmaker-initiated Legislation and Cabinet Legislation 　　　"Lawmaker-initiated legislation" refers to bills that are submitted to the Diet by members of this body. "Cabinet legislation" refers to bills submitted to the Diet by ministries or agencies of the government that form the cabinet. 　　　In Japan, a long period of stable rule by the Liberal Democratic Party has contributed to the development of a system of "preliminary review" within the Party that has in turn promoted closer cooperation between it and the government. Partly as a result of this, lawmaker-initiated legislation has been quite limited. In recent years, however, the formulation of this type of legislation has become less unusual due to (1) the continuing existence of coalition governments that have increased the range of viewpoints in political administrations, and (2) the emergence of an opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, whose members hope to take control of the government. At the same time, the Party's role in supporting the formulation of lawmaker-initiated legislation remains unclear and an established policymaking process encompassing this has not yet taken shape.

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