State Acts
State acts are decided by the Constitution of Japan.
The Emperor performs many important duties for the country. These include state acts, which are decided by the Japanese Constitution. For example:
- Appointing the Prime Minister chosen by the National Diet
- Appointing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court decided by the Cabinet
- Declaring the opening of the National Diet
- Announcing new laws and treaties with foreign countries to the people
- Awarding honors and decorations
- Receiving foreign ambassadors, and more
For these duties, documents decided by the Cabinet are delivered to the Emperor. He carefully reads and checks each one before signing or stamping them. The Emperor always performs his duties with great care, thinking about the happiness and peace of Japan and the Japanese people.
This is called the Ceremony of the Presentation of Credentials, where the Emperor receives credentials from foreign ambassadors. A horse-drawn carriage is provided to the Ambassador for transportation to and from the Imperial Palace according to the Ambassador's wishes. You can watch a video of this.
