Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

JAPANESE CONSTITUTION • 143
Chapter VII. Finance (Articles 83–91)
Chapter VIII. Local Self-Government (Articles 92–95)
Chapter IX. Amendments (Article 96)
Chapter X. Supreme Law (Articles 97–99)
Chapter XI. Supplementary Provisions (Articles 100–103)
The constitution is founded primarily on popular sovereignty, respect
for basic human rights, and pacifism. Additionally, the constitution
stipulates that the emperor is a symbol of the state, renunciation
of war, the separation of the three branches of government, the
Diet as the highest organ of the state power, security of local autonomy,
freedom of thought, universal suffrage, social rights, and more.
On 4 October 1945, Fumimaro Konoe, a prominent politician
who had been prime minister three times, visited General Douglas
MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
(SCAP), and explained that the so-called feudal forces in Japan centered
around the emperor and the Zaibatsu had resisted Japan’s waging
war against the Allied Powers, and if SCAP eliminated the emperor
and the Zaibatsu, the country would immediately become
communist. On hearing this plea, MacArthur informally suggested
that Konoe engage in revising the Constitution of the Empire of
Japan. Konoe and his associates began to draft a new constitution.
However, on 1 November 1945, because Konoe was accused of being
responsible for waging the war, SCAP announced that it had
nothing to do with the Konoe’s idea of a new constitution. Nonetheless,
Konoe continued his study and on 12 November 1945, he announced
his ideas. On 24 November, Soichi Sasaki, one of Konoe’s
associates, also publicized his own ideas for constitution. Rejecting
these ideas, SCAP forcefully interposed their own views.
Meanwhile, General MacArthur directed Kiju- ro- Shidehara to revise
the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The Shidehara cabinet
established the Constitutional Problems Investigation Committee
headed by Minister of State Joji Matsumoto. On 1 February 1946, the
Mainichi Newspaper got a scoop of one of many drafts that the committee
rejected in the process of its examination. On 3 February, General
MacArthur ordered the Government Section (GS) of the General
Headquarters (GHQ) of SCAP to draft a new Japanese constitution.
In just nine days, the GS drew up a draft constitution and submitted
it to the Japanese government on 13 February 1946. Based on this