Constitution Day of Japan

Flag of JapanConstitution Day has been celebrated since 1948, beginning with the first anniversary of the new constitution. The Constitution of 1947, although it inherited some of the positions of the Meiji Constitution, had a fundamentally new character, which was determined by the current situation in the country.

Having suffered defeat in World War II, occupied by American troops, Japan was forced to accept the demands of the Allies to democratize the political system. The main provisions of the new law were the recognition of the sovereignty of the people, fundamental human rights, the principles of power sharing and local self-government.

Thus, Japan received the legal basis for development as a country with a parliamentary democracy. The new definition was given the role of the emperor, who lost unlimited powers and became a “symbol of the state”. The 1947 Constitution proclaimed the renunciation of war as a sovereign right of the nation in the settlement of international disputes, which fundamentally distinguishes it from the constitutions of other states.

The text of the post-war Constitution was prepared by American lawyers from the headquarters of the occupying forces, taking into account the opinion of Japanese jurists and politicians. To some extent, this fact has led to the appearance from time to time in the political circles of the country of demands to revise the Constitution and give it a “primordial national” character.