The Premier receives a salary of 9,600 _yen_, and other ministers receive 6,000 _yen_, besides official residence and sundry allowances. In most cases the real work of each department is performed by the subordinate officials, while the frequently changing[93] Ministers of State are only nominal heads of the departments. The two portfolios of the Army and the Navy, however, have been taken out of politics, and are not subject to change whenever a ministry goes out of office. Ministers of State, as well as governmental delegates, specially appointed for the purpose, “may, at any time, take seats and speak in either House” of the Imperial Diet. The Imperial Diet of Japan consists of two Houses, the House of Peers and the House of Commons. The membership of the former comprises three classes,—hereditary, elective, and appointive.[94] The members of the Imperial Family and of the orders of Princes and Marquises possess the hereditary tenure. From among those persons who have the titles of Count, Baron, and Viscount a certain number are chosen by election, for a term of seven years. The Emperor has the power of appointing for life membership a limited number of persons, deserving on account of meritorious services to the State or of erudition. Finally, in each _Fu_ and _Ken_ one member is elected from and among the highest tax-payers and appointed by the Emperor, for a term of seven years. The members of the House of Commons are always elected by ballot in accordance with the Election Law, by which they now number 379. Their term of office is four years, unless they lose their seats by dissolution of the Diet, as has often happened. “Those [persons] alone shall be eligible [as candidates], that are male Japanese subjects, of not less than full thirty years of age, and that in the _Fu_ or _Ken_ in which they desire to be elected, have been paying direct national taxes to an amount of not less than 15 _yen_, for a period of not less than one year previous to the date of making out the electoral list, and that are still paying that amount of direct national taxes.”[95] Certain officials, as well as military and naval officers, are ineligible. A voter must be full twenty-five years of age; must have actually resided in that _Fu_ or _Ken_ for one year; and must have been paying direct national taxes of not less than 10 _yen_. The limits of an electoral district include a whole _Fu_ or _Ken_, except that an incorporated city (_Shi_) forms one or more districts by itself. And the number of the latter kind of districts has been increased lately, so that urban populations might have a more adequate representation. The plan of unsigned uni-nominal ballots is employed. The present number of eligible voters is a little over one million. [Illustration: DEPARTMENTS OF STATE: NAVY; AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE; JUSTICE; FOREIGN AFFAIRS]