Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:24 pm Post subject: Japanese Constitution
I like to get my homework done early so if you're tired of hearing my voice first then post earlier.
The 1947 Constitution in comparison to the last one we read, I forget what year, articulates the rights of the people in a much more straightforward fashion. In the older constitution, the rights of the people has around 10-15 articles, and there was a lot of room to abuse the elder articles regarding the people. The elder Constitution spent more time explaining the rights of the people regarding their contribution to the government. They have the "right" to pay taxes", and other articles such as that one. This Constitution focuses on the privacy and happiness of the people.
This constitution gives less power to the Emperor. "The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power." seems like an accurate description of his purpose. The Emperor's opinions are always voiced in regards to most situations, however, he never gets the final say.
Anyone else notice that the rights of the people in the 1947 Japanese Constitution is strikingly similar to that of the United States'?
In Chapter 1 of the 1947 Constitution, the Emperor was no longer being portrayed as a god-like figure. Also, the articles were shortened from 17 to 8, which tell us that the authority that was given to the Emperor was lesser.
The title of the chapter changed from “Rights and Duties of Subjects” to “Rights and Duties of The People”, I don’t know whether it was the translation or Japan did use a different word, I think it says something about the government’s attitude. It was a change from people for government to government for people. Besides, Shinto was not the national religion anymore, the people were given more freedom and power.
And yes I agree the rights and duties of the people is pretty similar to the US.
Yeah I definitely agree with you both that the Emperor is given less power. But not only is the Emperor given less power, but the cabinet now has more power. Not necessarily more power, but Japan's government went from being "emperor has supreme power" to a sort of more structured government. I felt the the government in the Meiji era gave so much power to the emperor that there was really no need for the other positions like the Imperial Diet and the Judicature, since no matter what they thought, the Emperor got the final say. Now it's a bit similar to our current government, where the real power and decision making comes from within the cabinet. I also noticed that the rules within the japanese people are almost the same, except for the fact that the right to free speech and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is more heavily emphasized.
the emperor was given a lot less power with this constitution and the diet had a bigger role. there also seemed to be a significant shift in the way that crimes were punished. before the judiciary system didn't really have that much power, but now it seems a lot more legitimate.
i definitely thought that the rights of the japanese people were similar to the rights of americans. it was interesting that the constitution no longer had things like 'within the limits of the law' following a right of freedom. the new constitution also changed marriage and other things that the first constitution didn't even address. "marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis" (article 24). this is kind of what i did my project on, but this is kind of a huge change from the way marriage had been for a long time. mutual consent and equal rights sounds even more like the american constitution.
Japan's new constitution is definitely more democratic than the last one. As everyone else has observed, the Emperor is given much less power, and the cabinet is strengthened. It seemed as if the Meiji constitution was headed in this direction, though. The Meiji constitution was almost like a step in between the shogun government and modern day Japan, as the Emperor had to at least communicate (by the constitution) with the diet.
I also noticed the resemblance between the American constitution and this constitution. Freedom of speech, religion, etc was heavily influenced in the third section. Also I found it interesting that "academic freedom is guaranteed" by article 23, although many Japanese text books censored events such as the Rape of Nanking until the 70s.
I think Matt raises an excellent point in saying that there are far fewer loopholes in this constitution. Comparing the sentence "These fundamental human rights guaranteed to the people by this Constitution shall be conferred upon the people of this and future generations as eternal and inviolate rights." to its equivalent in the Meiji constitution, one can see that the constitution drafted in 1947 guarantees the rights while the Meiji constitution made the rights conditional, leaving ample room for abuse and misinterpretation for political purposes. I think it is interesting that the Emperor is mentioned at all, as he is clearly transformed from an individual with significant (at least according to the Meiji Constitution) power, to little more than a cultural icon. It is understandable that he would be mentioned however, as he was purposefully not deposed so as to not entirely crush the collective spirit of the Japanese people and rob them of any identity. In addition, this constitution creates a more (be forewarned I am about to make a value based statement) modern style of republic. Most clearly demonstrated by the fact that honorary titles ceased to grant individuals access to direct political power, as they did with the house of peers under the Meiji constitution. A final observation, which does not contrast the previous constitution the the one drafted in 1947, is that this document espouses more current social values than our own constitution. This is hardly surprising, but social reforms, which have not made their way into our own bill of rights are outlined in the Japanese constitution.
I agree with what has been said, the Emperor is no longer the "sacred and inviolable" figure, although he remains as the symbol of national unity. More rights are given to the people as the constitution "guarantees" their freedom in many aspects like education. The Meiji Constitution focused more on the duties of the people like paying taxes and their services for the army, whereas the new constitution talks more about the freedom given as well as the duties still briefly being mentioned. It has definitely become much more detailed and developed.
I think that we see many similarities to the constitution of the U.S. because the U.S helped reform Japan's government after the war. That was one of the conditions of surrender that the Americans fought for. So its only natural that Japan's constitution would be based upon that of ht eU.S.
There is one line in the new constitution that i think encapsulates the shift in idea that Japan experienced. "the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power."
I agree with Anya's point. The 1947 Japanese Constitution substituted for the Meiji constitution in more democratic ways. The Emperor who used to be a religious figure began to represent his people, not a religion. Less articles for the Emperor and more required approvals of the Cabinet show that the Emperor’s power remarkably weakened. Above all, the supreme command of the Army and Navy given to the Emperor by the Meiji constitution was not mentioned at all in this constitution. The Emperor, according to article 6, still could appoint high official position such as the Prime Minister and the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court. Nonetheless, article 8 keeps the Emperor from abusing the appointing power by prohibiting receiving a bribe. I would say that checks and balances between the Emperor and the Diet are formed. I also thought that the appearance of new section, Renunciation of War, was interesting.
Many people have brought the thought that the McArthur Constitution is a more democratic version of Meiji Constitution. I would agree, that the way the constitution is written, accentuates the rights of the people compared to the older one.
If I would add more, I would say this version of the constitution is sort of a revision of Japanese constitution to be more like an American constitution and bill of rights--- although the way it is structured, how the emperor's right is articulated firstly, stays the same, but the rights of people is accentuated, as in the US constitution. Also, as the right of the poeple is more accentuated, the emperor's entity is devalued basically to the symbolic figure.
Joined: 15 Feb 2011 Posts: 7 Location: United States of America
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:48 am Post subject:
As has been said before, the power of the emperor and his holy status have been toned down in comparison with the Meiji Constitution. Even in the first article the constitution says outright, "The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power." This constitution clearly places the will of the people over the rule or the emperor. He has lost most political power and is now only a symbol of unity and the state.
Also, there is a high emphasis on peace and an international responsibility to maintain human rights. Part of the preamble states, "We desire to occupy an honored place in an international society striving for the preservation of peace, and the banishment of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance for all time from the earth" Also, perhaps more significantly, in the second chapter, Japan states that they renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation, and that they will not maintain land, sea and airborne military forces. These are significant statements for any nation. I wonder if America forced this upon Japan, or if this decision was made from the bottom up.
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