Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. The Emperor is the symbolic head of state, but with very limited powers. The reigning Emperor Akihito succeeded to the throne in 1989. The parliament, or Diet, is bicameral and comprises the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. The Diet is elected in periodic, universal-suffrage elections. The party gaining a majority in the lower house forms the government. The Prime Minister is elected by members of the Diet. Since September 2007, when long-standing Liberal Democrat Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned, Japan has experienced a period of political instability. Since his resignation, four prime ministers have resigned without completing their terms of office. Since June 2010, the post has been held by Naoto Kan, who was defeated in the latest elections for the House of Councillors (July 2010). Women hold 54 of the 480 seats in the lower house (11.3%) and 44 out of 242 in the upper house (18.20%).

The judiciary is independent and applies a legal code based on traditional laws, together with provisions similar to the US Bill of Rights.

Discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, social status or family origin is all banned, but continues in practice, often targeting minorities. Reports indicate that corruption and impunity are not widespread problems, though some police and prison officers have been accused of physical violence and psychological intimidation to obtain confessions. Freedom of expression is guaranteed by law. Laws have been enacted to prohibit unpaid forced labour and to restrict human trafficking. The government has prepared a national action plan for combating trafficking. Women and girl are the victims of trafficking who are brought into the country for sexual and labour exploitation. Illegal immigrants from China are trafficked by organised crime and forced to work in factories and restaurants in bondage-like conditions to pay off debts. At the latest International Conference on HIV/AIDS, it was emphasised that Japan's policy of excluding undocumented immigrants from the health care system was not only a misguided health policy, but also a violation of fundamental rights. AIDS sufferers and HIV-positive people are denied access to essential health care, including anti-retroviral therapy.

Japan is reviewing its legislation on preventing child abuse, with the aim of prioritising child welfare by restricting parental authority in cases of domestic violence and abuse. In 2000, the authorities finally acknowledged child abuse as being a problem.

Boys and girls have equal access to public services. Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15. Pupils who meet academic standards for upper secondary school receive free education up to the age of 18. Transition from pre-school to formal education is causing some concern. Japanese children attend pre-school between the ages of 3 and 5. When they start school, at 6 years old, they have problems adapting to the more formal environment and didactic teaching methods. Reports indicate that the degree of discipline is very high. Violence in schools is another concern, and there have been a number of serious cases of bullying. Pupils under 18 who have been victims of bullying receive counselling. The Ministry of Education reports that primary school children are increasingly involved in violent incidents, both within the school grounds and elsewhere.

The Japan Teachers Union (JTU), a member of EI, has expressed concern over the presence of market forces and competitive principles in education. This competitiveness aggravates pupils' lack of motivation, leads to polarisation of academic achievements, and results in increasing teacher fatigue, both physical and mental. JTU has demanded drastic, wholesale reforms so as to establish closer adherence both to the United Nations Convention on Child Rights and to the Japanese Constitution, and in particular, is seeking to change the educational model to one less focussed on academic performance. Japan is a country that attaches great importance to education, but has one of the most stressful and inflexible education systems in the world. Even after the gradual elimination of the 6-day school-week, Japan still has one of the developed world's longest school years, if not the longest. Participation in school clubs and activities is compulsory and many pupils attend courses out of school hours to prepare for secondary school or for university entrance exams. A huge amount of homework is handed out, even for school holiday periods, and a very high standard of work is demanded.

A 3-year programme begins at age 3. At this level, 31% of education is private. The Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) is 89%. There are 102,034 ECE teachers (98% women). The number of pupils per teacher (PTR) is 30: 1.

Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. Primary education begins at age 6 and lasts for 6 years. At this level, 1% of education is private. The NER is 100% (49% girls). There are 371,668 primary teachers (65% women). The PTR is 18: 1.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and lasts for 6 years. At this level, 19% of education is private. 25% of lower secondary pupils study technical training programs. The NER is 98%. There are 615,158 secondary teachers, 259,460 (40% women) in lower secondary and 355,698 (25% women) in upper. The PTR is 15: 1 in lower secondary and 12: 1 in upper secondary.

3,874,224 students (46% female) are studying at tertiary institutions, giving a Gross Enrolment Ratio of 59%. At this level, 77% of education is private. There are 117,933 foreign students studying in Japan, mainly from Asia (111,330), North America and West Europe (3,093), Central and East Europe (1,206), Latin America and the Caribbean (1,157), Arab States (600) and Sub-Saharan Africa (498). At the same time, there are 60,424 Japanese students studying abroad, mainly in the USA (40,835), the UK (6,395), Australia (3,172), Germany (2,547) and France (2,337).

Discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in education and other public services is illegal, but in practice access to state employment is limited. Companies that employ persons with some type of disability receive government subsidies. Large corporations have special divisions for workers with disabilities. The basis of the current system of special education is to ensure coordination between mainstream education and special education at all levels. A variety of educational opportunities is available depending on the disability.

The law provides for asylum or refugee status to be granted in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Registered refugees have access to education, public services and welfare benefits, but Japanese laws on immigration continue to be very restrictive. This is despite the fact that the Age Pyramid in Japan is getting narrower and narrower and the population is decreasing. The country needs to increase the number of taxpayers if it wants to keep its social services and quality of life. Asylum-seekers who do not have their immigrant status in order are usually held until the case is resolved.

In addition to the indigenous Ainu (descendants of the country's first inhabitants), the Korean minority - which has lived in Japan for many generations - and the Buraku (a Japanese minority descended from the lowest caste in feudal society), Japan now receives people from Asia and elsewhere. Basic concepts of Japanese education are currently under review. Other languages have been included in the school curriculum, and school text books now include minorities; the intense debate on curriculum reform includes issues of religion and ethnic origin. Textbook publishers and educators are now more sensitive to the issues of equality and human rights, but the national curriculum does not include much information on minority cultures. Opponents of the national curriculum plan believe ethnic schools should be established as alternatives to the mainstream ones. Demands have intensified for the government to fund these schools. Education on minorities such as Koreans, Okinawans and Burakus is provided outside the official curriculum. Multicultural education is starting to acknowledge Japan's ethnic diversity. Teachers are requesting training to deal with the changes brought by cultural diversity in schools. Mandatory education provided in the Japanese language denied the Ainu their right to uphold their traditional practices, but they are now recognised as an ethnic minority.

Although sweeping changes have been made to the management of over 500 Japanese universities, reports do not mention violations of the constitutionally-guaranteed academic freedom. However, sometimes cases come to light of academics being put under pressure by ultra-nationalists.

The Constitution and the Equal Employment Opportunity Law ban sexual discrimination, but discrimination and sexual harassment at work are still common problems. Workplace rules to stop sexual harassment in the public service have been introduced. Some trains have women-only carriages to help prevent sexual harassment. Women make up 40.5% of the active population. The still-existing, gender wage-gap is detrimental to women. The inequality is blamed on a 2-track system of human resources administration which splits newly hired personnel into management rank and general rank. As the general rank is normally office work, many women are assigned to this group. Further, violence against women tends to go unreported and the trafficking of women for purposes of sexual exploitation is a major problem.

Amnesty International, together with other national and international Human Rights organisations and the ILO International Conference union delegation, continues demanding that Japan apologise clearly and unequivocally to women survivors of sexual slavery (comfort women), implemented during the Second World War. 200,000 women are estimated to have been forced to provide sexual services for Japanese troops from 1932 until the end of the war. The Japanese Imperial Army detained women and children thought most susceptible to be trapped into sexual slavery on account of their age, poverty, social class, family situation, nationality or ethnic origin. These women were subjected to multiple abuses, including abduction, group rape and forced abortions. The survivors are now very old but still suffer from the consequences of the abuse. It should be remembered that Japan ratified the 1932 Convention on Forced Labour and therefore holds full responsibility for the military's system of sexual slavery in operation between 1932 and 1945. August 2010 was the 100th anniversary of Japan's annexation of Korea. Prime Minister Naoto Kan issued a statement expressing his "profound sorrow" for the colonisation of South Korea, but made no mention whatsoever of the women victims of sexual exploitation. Most of these women were Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Phillipine, Malasian, Indonesian, Dutch, Timorese and Japanese.

Legally, children under the age of 15 cannot be employed and children 16 to 17 are not permitted to perform hazardous or noxious work. People cannot be subjected to debt bondage or involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes. The prohibition against forced or compulsory labour includes children, although they are not specifically mentioned in the provision. Victims of human trafficking, mostly women and children, are held and forced to work in servitude. Strict application of the Labour Standards Law protects children from work exploitation. The law also prohibits sexual exploitation of people under 18 and the production, sale, or distribution of child pornography.

Workers have the right to join and form unions; 19.5% are unionised. The Japanese Trades Union Confederation (RENGO) represents 6.8 million workers. Workers have the right to hold strikes, with the exception of members of the Defence Forces, the police, and fire-fighters. The ILO has noted that public employees have limited possibilities for determining their wages and working conditions and has asked the government to encourage negotiations with public employees. Wages and working conditions for public employees are based on the recommendations of the National Personnel Authority. Collective bargaining is a normal procedure for workers within the private sector. The minimum wage is set by a tripartite group at prefecture level. The working week is normally 40 hours.

In February 2011, a secondary school female teacher was penalised for refusing to stand and sing the national anthem. There are a couple dozen ongoing lawsuits concerning forced patriotism at district courts and the Supreme Court. The lawsuits were filed by teachers who question the constitutionality of being forced to stand and sing the national anthem. Most of the lawsuits request that the sanctions be overturned and compensation paid for damages. Several teachers, particularly in Tokyo, have been removed from their normal activities and have been denied contact with their pupils. The Japanese flag and national anthem are, for many people, symbols of the country's military past and represent the country's outdated form of loyalty to the Emperor.

State of World Population 2010. "From Conflict and Crisis to Renewal: Generations of Change" UNFPA, November 2010, www.unfpa.org (Spanish)

Human Rights Watch, "Rights and Health, Right Now for Migrants" October 2010, www.hrw.org

Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org