Presenting petitions

Petitions can be filed with either House. Presenting petitions to the Diet is a right guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution. Any Japanese national or foreign resident in Japan may present a petition. The actual process of presenting the petition will be handled by a Diet member or the Diet member's secretary.

Petitions may be submitted during the period the Diet is in session, from the opening day of the session until about a week before the close of the session. However, petitions may occasionally not be accepted in cases when the Diet session is unusually brief.

When making a petition, its content should be stated concisely in a written document with the name and home address (or residence, in cases where there is no home address) of the person making the petition. The petition requires the handwritten signature of the petitioner. If the petition is in a foreign language or in Braille, please provide a written translation. The petitioner may not submit multiple petitions with similar content during a single Diet session. Please note that this is the case even if the petitions were to be introduced by different Diet members.

Any person wishing to make a petition should submit it to the Presiding Officer with an introduction of a House Member. The petition is then examined by the Committee concerned. Petitions which are considered appropriate are passed by the House and then sent to the Cabinet which then takes appropriate measures. The Cabinet must report annually to both Houses on how petitions are being handled.