Neither the Department of State nor its representative in Tokyo, the Office of the Political Advisor for the Supreme Commander, was given advance notice of the March 6, 1946 publication of the "Outline of a Draft for a Revised Constitution." On March 8, Max Bishop of the Office of the Political Advisor mailed a copy of this draft to the Secretary of State with his comment stating that the GHQ's involvement in the draft was apparent.
The State Department's response to the "Outline of a Draft for a Revised Constitution" is included in the documents dated May 13 of Government Section at GHQ as attachments. More specifically, the State Department critically reviewed the same outline of the draft (in the document dated March 20), however, when GHQ received this review, Alfred Hussey and those working on the GHQ Draft added their objections (in the documents dated April 24 and 29). An example of one of the Department of State's criticisms was that for Japan to resolve various problems which it was faced with, the executive power would need to be stronger. Government Section replied that this outline draft, which would become the fundamental law of the nation, should not be judged from the short term standpoint, and argued that the theory for a strong executive power was not compatible with the draft Constitution's chief principle of popular sovereignty.
| Actual Title of Source | Max W. Bishop to the Secretary of State, Subject: Japanese Government's Draft Constitution |
|---|---|
| Date | March 8, 1946 |
| Document Number | State Department Records Decimal File. 1945-1949 "740.0019 CONTROL (JAPAN)/3-846"<Sheet No. SDDF(A)00492> |
| Repository (reproduction) | National Diet Library |
| Repository | U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (RG59) |
| Note | Microfiche |
| Actual Title of Source | Check Sheet, From: Govt Sect., Subject: Japanese Draft Constitution |
|---|---|
| Date | 13 May, 1946 |
| Document Number | GHQ/SCAP Records Government Section; Box No. 2088 "Publicity" < Sheet No. GS(B)00642> |
| Repository (reproduction) | National Diet Library |
| Repository | U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (RG331) |
| Note | Microfiche |
