TOP
SECRET
PREAMBLE
We, the Japanese People, acting through our duly elected representatives in the
National Diet, determined that we shall secure for ourselves and our posterity
the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty
throughout this land and resolved that never again shall we be visited with the
horrors of war through the action of government, do proclaim the sovereignty
of the people's will and do Ordain and Establish this Constitution, founded upon
the universal principle that Government is a sacred trust the authority for which
is derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives
of the people and the benefits of which are enjoyed by the people, and Reject
and Revoke all Constitutions, Ordinances, Laws and Rescripts in conflict herewith.
The people of Japan, desiring peace for all time and fully conscious of the high
ideals controlling human relationship now stirring mankind, have determined to
rely for their security and survival upon the justice and good faith of the peace-loving
peoples of the world. Japan desires to occupy an honored place in an international
society designed and dedicated to the preservation of peace, and the banishment
of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance, for all time from the earth.
To these high principles and purposes Japan pledges its national honor, determined
will and full resources.
ARTICLE I
War as a sovereign right of the nation is abolished. The threat or use of forces
is forever renounced as a means for settling disputes with any other nation.
No Army, Navy, Air Force, or other war potential
will never
be authorized and no rights of belligerency will ever be conferred upon the state.
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
The Committee on the Emperor and Miscellaneous Affairs submits the following
report:
CHAPTER _____
THE EMPEROR
Article An Imperial Throne shall be the symbol of
the State and of the Unity of the People, and an Emperor shall be the symbolic
personification thereof, deriving his position from the sovereign will of the
People, and from no other source.
Article Succession to the Imperial Throne shall
be dynastic and in accordance with such Imperial House Law as the Diet may enact.
Article The advice and consent of the Cabinet shall
be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of State, and the Cabinet
shall be responsible therefor. The Emperor shall perform such state functions
as are provided for in this Constitution. He shall have no governmental powers,
nor shall he assume or be granted such powers. The Emperor may delegate his functions
in such manner as may be provided by law.
When a regency is instituted in conformity with the provisions of such Imperial
House Law as the Diet may enact, the duties of the Emperor shall be performed
by the Regent in the name of the Emperor; and the limitations on the functions
of the Emperor contained herein shall apply with equal force to the Regent.
Article Acting only on the advice
and with the consent of the Cabinet, the Emperor, on behalf of the People, shall
perform the following state functions: Affix his official seal to and proclaim
all laws enacted by the Diet, all Cabinet ordinances, all amendments to this
Constitution, and all treaties and international conventions; Convoke sessions
of the Diet;
Dissolve the Diet and proclaim general elections;
Appoint the Prime Minister in accordance with the provisions of Article _____,
and accept his resignation;
Attest the appointment or commission and resignation or dismissal of other Ministers
of State, Ambassadors and those other state officials whose appointment or commission
and resignation or dismissal may be law be confirmed in this manner;
Attest grants of amnesty, pardons, commutation of punishment, reprieves and rehabilitation;
Award honors;
Receive Ambassadors and Ministers of Foreign States; and Perform appropriate
ceremonial functions.
Article No grants of money or other property shall
be made to the Throne, and no expenditures shall be made by the Throne, unless
authorized by the Diet.
ENABLEMENT
(To be included in Chapter ______, THE DIET).
Article The Diet shall enact all laws necessary
and proper to carry into execution the provisions of this Constitution.
TREATY MAKING POWERS
(To be included in Chapter ______, THE EXECUTIVE)
Article The Cabinet shall be empowered to conclude
treaties and agreements and to enter into international conventions, provided
that such treaties, agreements and conventions shall be effective only if the
consent of the Diet be granted by prior authorization or subsequent ratification.
CHAPTER _____
TREASON
Article Treason shall consist in conspiring or attempting,
or in abetting in any way any person who conspires or attempts, to alter by the
use of force this Constitution or to overthrow the State which it establishes;
in waging war, or in abetting in any way any person who wages war, against Japan;
or in conspiring or attempting in any way to cause Japan to wage war on another
State.
Treason shall be punishable by death.
Only Japanese nationals shall be accused of treason.
CHAPTER _____
AMENDMENTS
Article Amendments to this Constitution shall be
made
only by the Diet, through a concurring vote of three-fourths
of all its members, and shall thereupon become effective, as an integral part
of this Constitution; provided that, in the case of Amendments to Chapter _____,
such Amendments shall further be submitted to the Electorate for ratification,
and shall become effective only when ratified by two-thirds of the people voting
thereon.
Amendments to this Constitution, upon becoming effective in the manner prescribed
above, shall immediately be proclaimed by the Emperor, in the name of the People,
as an integral part of this Constitution.
CHAPTER _____
SUPREME LAW OF LAND
Article This Constitution shall be the Supreme Law
of the Land, and no law, ordinance, treaty or other governmental act contrary
to the provisions thereof shall have legal force or validity.
Article All laws, ordinances, rescripts, treaties
and other governmental enactments, of whatever description or source of authority,
promulgated prior to the ratification of this Constitution, or those particular
provisions thereof, which are contrary to the provisions of this Constitution,
shall be automatically invalid from the instant of ratification.
Article The Emperor, upon succeeding to the Throne,
and the Regent, Ministers of State, Members of the Diet, Members of the Judiciary
and all other officers of the State, upon assuming office, shall be bound to
support this Constitution.
CHAPTER _____
RATIFICATION
Article This Constitution shall be established when
ratified by the Diet by roll-call vote of two-thirds of the members present.
Upon ratification by the Diet, the Emperor shall immediately proclaim, in the
name of the People, that this Constitution has been established as the Supreme
Law of the Land.
RICHARD A. POOLE |
Ensign, USNR |
Chairman |
|
GEORGE A. NELSON, JR |
1st Lt, CMP |
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
1. The Committee on The Diet submits the following report:
CHAPTER IV
THE DIET
Article I. The Diet shall be the highest organ of state power and shall be the
sole law-making authority of the state.
Article II. The Diet shall consist of one House of elected representatives with
a membership of not less than 300 nor more than 500.
Article III. The qualifications of electors and of candidates for election to
the Diet shall be determined by law, and in determining such qualifications there
shall be no discrimination on grounds of sex, race, creed, color or social status.
Article IV. Members of the Diet shall receive compensation from the national
treasury as determined by law.
Article V. Members of the Diet shall in all cases, except those specified by
law, be free from arrest while attending the sessions of the Diet or while travelling
to and from such sessions; and for any speech, debate, or vote in the Diet, they
shall not be held legally liable elsewhere.
Article VI. The term of the members shall be four years, but it may be terminated
at an earlier date by dissolution of the Diet as provided herein.
Article VII. The method of election, apportionment, and voting
shall
be determined by law.
Article VIII. The Diet shall meet in annual session as determined by law.
Article IX. The Government may call special sessions and shall do so on petition
of not less than twenty-five per cent of the members of the Diet.
Article X. The Diet shall be the sole judge of the elections and the qualifications
of its members. The denial of a seat to anyone who is certified to have been
elected and whose right to the seat has been questioned shall require the vote
of a majority of the members present.
Article XI. A quorum to transact business shall consist of not less than one-third
of all the members. Except as otherwise provided herein all actions of the Diet
shall be by majority vote of those present. In case of a tie the presiding officer
shall cast the deciding vote.
Article XII. The Diet shall choose its presiding officer and other officials.
It may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish members for disorderly
behavior and expel them. On a motion for expulsion of a member a vote of not
less than two-thirds of the members present shall be required to effect such
expulsion.
Article XIII. No law shall be passed except by bill.
Article XIV. The deliberations of the Diet shall be public, and no secret sessions
shall be held. The Diet shall maintain and publish a record of its proceedings
and this record shall be made available for inspection by the public. The individual
votes of members on any question shall be recorded in the journal upon the demand
of twenty per cent of those present.
Article XV. The Diet shall have the power to conduct investigations, to compel
the attendance and testimony of witness and
the production
of records, and to punish for refusal to comply.
Article XVI. The Prime Minister and the Ministers of State whether or not they
hold seats in the Diet may at any time appear before that body for the purpose
of presenting and arguing bills and shall appear when required to answer interpellations.
Article XVII. Upon the passage of a resolution of non-confidence by a majority
of the total membership of the Diet, the Government shall either resign within
ten days or order the Diet to dissolve. When the Diet has been ordered dissolved
a special election of a new Diet shall be held not less than thirty days nor
more than forty days after the date of dissolution. The newly elected Diet shall
be convoked within twenty days after the date of election.
Article XVIII. The Diet shall constitute from among its members a court of impeachment
to try members of the Judiciary against whom proceedings have been instituted,
as determined by law.
Article XVIX. The Diet shall establish the several Ministries of State.
FRANK E. HAYS |
Lt Col, Cav |
|
GUY J. SWOPE |
Comdr, USNR |
|
O. I. HAUGE |
Lt (jg) USNE |
|
GERTRUDE NORMAN |
File copy for Committee on Civil Rights
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
The Committee on Civil Rights submits the following report:
CHAPTER III
CIVIL RIGHTS
I. GENERAL
Article The people of Japan are entitled to the
enjoyment without interference of all fundamental human rights that do not conflict
with the equal enjoyment of those rights by others.
Article The fundamental human rights hereinafter
by this constitution conferred upon and guaranteed to the people of Japan result
from the age-old struggle of man to be free. They have survived the exacting
test for durability in the crucible of time and experience and are conferred
upon this and future generations in sacred trust, to be held for all time inviolate.
Article The freedoms, rights and opportunities provided
by this Constitution are maintained by the self-disciplined cooperation of the
people. They therefore involve a corresponding obligation on the part of the
people to prevent their abuse and to employ them always for the common welfare.
Article The feudal system of Japan shall cease.
All Japanese by virtue of their humanity shall be respected as individuals. Their
right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness within the limits of the general
welfare shall be the supreme consideration of all law, and of all governmental
action.
Article All natural persons are
equal before the law. No discrimination shall be authorized or tolerated in political,
economic, educational and domestic relations on account of race, creed, sex,
caste or national origin. No patent of nobility shall from this time forth embody
within itself any national or civic power of government. No rights of peerage
except those of the Imperial family shall extend beyond the lives of those now
existent. No special privilege shall accompany any ownership or grant of title,
honor, decoration or other distinction; nor shall any such ownership or grant
of distinction be valid beyond the lifetime of the individual who owns or may
receive it.
Article The people are the ultimate arbiters of
their government. They have the inalienable right to choose their public officials
and to dismiss them. All public officials are servants of the whole community
and not of any special groups. In all elections, secrecy of the ballot shall
be kept inviolate, nor shall any voter be answerable, publicly or privately,
for the choice he has made.
Article Every person has the right of peaceful petition
for the redress of grievances, as well as for the enactment, repeal or amendment
of laws, ordinances or regulations; nor shall any person be in any way discriminated
against for making such a petition.
Article Aliens shall be entitled to the equal protection
of law. When charged with any offense they are entitled to use the assistance
of their diplomatic representatives and of interpreters of their own choosing.
II. FREEDOMS
Article No person shall be held in enslavement,
serfdom
of bondage of any kind. Involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime, is prohibited.
Article Freedom of thought and conscience shall
be held inviolable.
Article Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all.
No religious organization shall receive special privileges from the State, nor
exercise political authority.
No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious acts, celebrations,
rites or practices. The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education
or any other religious activity.
Article Freedom of assembly, speech, and press are
guaranteed, including the right to criticize any public official, agency or practice,
or to urge the enactment, amendment or repeal of any law. No censorship shall
be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated.
All forms of expression other than speech and press shall be accorded the same
essential freedom, but legal measures for the suppression of indecent or degrading
literature, plays moving-pictures, radio-broadcasts, and exhibitions shall be
permissible for the protection of youth and maintenance of high public standards.
Article Freedom of movement and choice of domicile,
are guaranteed to every person, provided they do not conflict with the general
welfare.
All persons shall be free to emigrate if they so desire and if the laws of the
country of their choice permit their entrance and residence; but no Japanese
citizen can be banished from Japanese territory. Emigrants shall be permitted
to change their nationality.
Article Freedom of academic teaching,
study and choice of occupation are guaranteed to all adults.
Article It shall be the duty of government to protect
these freedoms.
III. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Article The family is the basis of human society
and its traditions for good or evil permeate the nation. Hence marriage and the
family are protected by law, and it is hereby ordained that they shall rest upon
the undisputed legal and social equality of both sexes, upon mutual consent instead
of parental coercion, and upon cooperation instead of male domination. Laws contrary
to these principles shall be abolished, and replaced by others viewing choice
of spouse, property rights, inheritance, choice of domicile, divorce and other
matters pertaining to marriage and the family from the standpoint of individual
dignity and the essential equality of the sexes.
Article In all spheres of life laws shall be designed only for the promotion
and extension of social welfare, and of freedom, justice and democracy. All laws,
agreements, contracts or relationships, public or private, which restrict or
tend to destroy the welfare of the people shall be replaced by others which promote
it. To these end the Diet shall enact legislation which shall:
Protect and aid expectant and nursing mothers, promote infant and child welfare,
and establish just rights for illegitimate and adopted children, and for the
underprivileged;
Establish and maintain free, universal and compulsory education, based on ascertained
truth;
Prohibit the exploitation of children;
Promote the public health;
Provide social insurance for all the people;
Set proper standards for working conditions, wages and hours and establish the
right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively, and to strike in all
except essential occupations; and
Protect intellectual labor and the rights of authors, artists, scientists, and
inventors whether native or foreign.
Article Every adult has the right to earn a living
by productive work. Insofar as a suitable occupation cannot be found for his,
provision shall be made for his necessary maintenance.
Article Japanese citizens have the right to organize
freely in societies, unions or associations for any peaceful purposes; but secret
political, militaristic or ultra-nationalistic organizations are prohibited,
as shall be all organizations cultivating civil, international or interracial
antagonism and strife.
Article The right to own property is inviolable,
but property rights shall be defined by law, in conformity with the public welfare.
Article The ultimate title to the land and to all
natural resources resides in the State as the collective representative of the
people. Hence land and its resources are subject to the right of the State to
take them, upon just compensation therefore, for the purpose of securing and
promoting the proper conservation, development, utilization and control thereof,
and to enact legislation necessary or expedient therefor.
Article Private property may be inherited, but the
right of the State to share in inherited estates is undeniable and shall be fixed
by law.
Article Contracts are protected
by law, but usury is prohibited, and legal transactions which are contrary to
public policy are null and void.
Article Property imposes obligations. Its use by
the owner shall at the same time serve the public good. Where the public interest
is clearly served better by public ownership, private property may be expropriated
on the basis of law, and only upon fair compensation.
Article The organization of Japan's economic life
must conform to the principles of justice and democracy, to the end that all
citizens may be guaranteed a decent standard of living. Within these limits the
economic liberty and rights of the individual shall be assured.
Article The state may undertake the exclusive production,
manufacture or distribution or goods or services essential to public health or
welfare but shall not enter into partnerships nor grant subsidies to any favored
individual or group, nor may it grant or delegate unrestricted monopoly privileges.
IV. JURIDICAL RIGHTS
Article No person, save those arrested in the act
of law-breaking, shall be apprehended except upon warrant issued by a competent
officer of a court of law specifying the offense upon which the person may be
charged.
No person shall be arrested or detained without being at once informed of the
charges against him nor without the privilege of counsel; he shall not be held
incommunicado nor detained without adequate cause which must be immediately shown
in open court upon demand of the accused or of his counsel.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property except according to
procedures established by the Diet, nor shall any person be denied the right
of appeal to the courts.
Article The right of the people
to be secure in their persons, homes, papers and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures shall not be violated, nor shall any warrant be issued
except upon probable cause, and particularly describing the place to be searched
and the person or things to be seized.
Each search or seizure shall be made upon separate warrant issued for the purpose
by a competent officer of a court of law.
Article The use of torture, whether physical or
mental, is absolutely forbidden to any public officer and strict punishment shall
be inflicted upon any officer found guilty of such abuse.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.
Article In all criminal cases the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal. He shall,
at his trial, be confronted with all the witness against him and be permitted
through counsel to cross-examine such witnesses, and he shall have the right
of compulsory process for obtaining witnesses; at pubic expense, in his favor.
At all times the accused shall have the assistance of competent counsel who shall,
if the accused be unable to secure the same by his own efforts, be assigned to
his use by the government.
No person shall be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense.
No person shall be declared guilty of a crime except upon fair and open trial,
nor shall any person be deprived of civil rights without a trial.
Trial by jury shall be accorded to anyone charged with a capital offense, and
to anyone accused of a felony, at the request of the accused.
Article No person shall be compelled to testify
against himself, nor shall the testimony of a wide or husband be accepted
in
evidence against the spouse of such wife or husband.
No confession shall be valid unless made in the presence of counsel for the accused,
nor shall it be valid if made under compulsion or torture or threat.
No person shall be convicted and punished in cases where the only proof against
him is his own confession
Article No ex-post facto law shall be enacted, nor
any punishment inflicted penalizing any person for an act lawful at the time
it was committed.
Article The right of extraditing persons from Japan
who have fled from or escaped justice in foreign countries shall not be denied
such cases when official representatives of such foreign nations may request
it.
PIETER K. ROEST |
Lt Col, TC |
|
BEATE SIROTA |
|
HARRY EMERSON WILDES |
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
The Committee on Civil Rights submits the following report:
CHAPTER III
CIVIL RIGHTS
I. GENERAL
Article The people of Japan are entitled to the
enjoyment without interference of all fundamental human rights that do not conflict
with the equal enjoyment of those rights by others.
Article The fundamental human rights hereinafter
by this constitution conferred upon and guaranteed to the people of Japan result
from the age-old struggle of man to be free. They have survived the exacting
test for durability in the crucible of time and experience and are conferred
upon this and future generations in sacred trust, to be held for all time inviolate.
Article The freedoms, rights and opportunities provided
by this Constitution are maintained by the self-disciplined cooperation of the
people. They therefore involve a corresponding obligation on the part of the
people to prevent their abuse and to employ them always for the common welfare.
Article The feudal system of Japan shall cease.
All Japanese by virtue of their humanity shall be respected as individuals. Their
right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness within the limits of the general
welfare shall be the supreme consideration of all law, and of all governmental
action.
Article All natural persons are
equal before the law. No discrimination shall be authorized or tolerated in political,
economic, educational and domestic relations on account of race, creed, sex,
caste or national origin. No patent of nobility shall from this time forth embody
within itself any national or civic power of government. No rights of peerage
except those of the Imperial family shall extend beyond the lives of those now
existent. No special privilege shall accompany any ownership or grant of title,
honor, decoration or other distinction; nor shall any such ownership or grant
of distinction be valid beyond the lifetime of the individual who owns or may
receive it.
Article The people are the ultimate arbiters of
their government. They have the inalienable right to choose their public officials
and to dismiss them. All public officials are servants of the whole community
and not of any special groups. In all elections, secrecy of the ballot shall
be kept inviolate, nor shall any voter be answerable, publicly or privately,
for the choice he has made.
Article Every person has the right of peaceful petition
for the redress of grievances, as well as for the enactment, repeal or amendment
of laws, ordinances or regulations; nor shall any person be in any way discriminated
against for making such a petition.
Article Aliens shall be entitled to the equal protection
of law. When charged with any offense they are entitled to use the assistance
of their diplomatic representatives and of interpreters of their own choosing.
II. FREEDOMS
Article No person shall be held in enslavement,
serfdom
or bondage of any kind. Involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime, is prohibited.
Article Freedom of thought and conscience shall
be held inviolable.
Article Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all.
No religious organization shall receive special privileges from the State, nor
exercise political authority.
No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious acts, celebrations,
rites or practices. The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education
or any other religious activity.
Article Freedom of assembly, speech and press are
guaranteed, including the right to criticize any public official, agency or practice,
or to urge the enactment, amendment or repeal of any law. No censorship shall
be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated.
All forms of expression other than speech and press shall be accorded the same
essential freedom, but legal measures for the suppression of indecent or degrading
literature, plays, moving-pictures, radio-broadcasts, and exhibitions shall be
permissible for the protection of youth and the maintenance of high public standards.
Article Freedom of movement and choice of domicile,
are guaranteed to every person, provided they do not conflict with the general
welfare.
All persons shall be free to emigrate if they so desire and if the laws of the
country of their choice permit their entrance and residence; but no Japanese
citizen can be banished from Japanese territory. Emigrants shall be permitted
to change their nationality.
Article Freedom of academic teaching,
study and choice of occupation are guaranteed to all adults.
Article It shall be the duty of government to protect
these freedoms.
III. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Article The family is the basis of human society
and its traditions for good or evil permeate the nation. Hence marriage and the
family are protected by law, and it is hereby ordained that they shall rest upon
the undisputed legal and social equality of both sexes, upon mutual consent instead
of parental coercion, and upon cooperation instead of male domination. Laws contrary
to these principles shall be abolished, and replaced by others viewing choice
of spouse, property rights, inheritance, choice of domicile, divorce and other
matters pertaining to marriage and the family from the standpoint of individual
dignity and the essential equality of the sexes.
Article In all spheres of life laws shall he designed
only for the promotion and extension of social welfare, and of freedom, justice
and democracy. All laws, agreements, contracts or relationships, public or private,
which restrict or tend to destroy the welfare of the people shall be replaced
by others which promote it. To this end the Diet shall enact legislation which
shall:
Protect and aid expectant and nursing mothers, promote infant and child welfare,
and establish just rights for illegitimate and adopted children, and for the
underprivileged;
Establish and maintain free, universal and compulsory education, based on ascertained
truth;
Prohibit the exploitation of children;
Promote the public health;
Provide social insurance for all the people;
Set proper standards for working conditions, wages and hours and establish the
right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively, and to strike in all
except essential occupations; and
Protect intellectual labor and the rights of authors, artists, scientists, and
inventors whether native or foreign.
Article Every adult has the right to earn a living
by productive work. Insofar as a suitable occupation cannot be found for him,
provision shall be made for his necessary maintenance.
Article Japanese citizens have the right to organize
freely in societies, unions or associations for any peaceful purposes; but secret
political, militaristic or ultra-nationalistic organizations are prohibited,
as shall be all organizations cultivating civil, international or interracial
antagonism and strife.
Article The right to own property is inviolable,
but property rights shall be defined by law, in conformity with the public welfare.
Article The ultimate title to the land and to all
natural resources resides in the State as the collective representative of the
people. Hence land and its resources are subject to the right of the State to
take them, upon just compensation therefore, for the purpose of securing and
promoting the proper conservation, development, utilization and control thereof
and to enact legislation necessary or expedient therefore.
Article Private property may be inherited, but the
right of the State to share in inherited estates is undeniable and shall be fixed
by law.
Article Contracts are protected
by law, but usury is prohibited, and legal transactions which are contrary to
public policy are null and void.
Article Property imposes obligations. Its use by
the owner shall at the same time serve the public good. Where the public interest
is clearly served better by public ownership, private property may be expropriated
on the basis of law, and only upon fair compensation.
Article The organization of Japan's economic life
must conform to the principles of justice and democracy, to the end that all
citizens may be guaranteed a decent standard of living. Within these limits the
economic liberty and rights of the individual shall be assured.
Article The state may undertake the exclusive production,
manufacture or distribution of goods or services essential to public health or
welfare but shall not enter into partnerships nor grant subsidies to any favored
individual or group, nor may it grant or delegate unrestricted monopoly privileges.
IV. JURIDICAL RIGHTS
Article No person, save those arrested in the act
of law-breaking, shall be apprehended except upon warrant issued by a competent
officer of a court of law specifying the offense upon which the person may be
charged.
No person shall be arrested or detained without being at once informed of the
charges against him nor without the privilege of counsel; he shall not be held
incommunicado nor detained without adequate cause which must be immediately shown
in open court upon demand of the accused or of his counsel.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property except according to
procedures established by the Diet, nor shall any person be denied the right
of appeal to the courts.
Article The right of the people
to be secure in their persons, homes, papers and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures shall not be violated, nor shall any warrant be issued
except upon probable cause, and particularly describing the place to be searched
and the person or things to be seized.
Each search or seizure shall be made upon separate warrant issued for the purpose
by a competent officer of a court of law.
Article The use of torture, whether physical or
mental, is absolutely forbidden to any public officer and strict punishment shall
be inflicted upon any officer found guilty of such abuse.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted.
Article In all criminal cases the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal. He shall,
at his trial, be confronted with all the witnesses against him and be permitted
through counsel to cross-examine such witnesses, and he shall have the right
of compulsory process for obtaining witnesses, at public expense, in his favor.
At all times the accused shall have the assistance of competent counsel who shall,
if the accused be unable to secure the same by his own efforts, be assigned to
his use by the government.
No person shall be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense.
No person shall be declared guilty of a crime except upon fair and open trial,
nor shall any person be deprived of civil rights without a trial.
Trial by jury shall be accorded to anyone charged with a capital offense, and
to anyone accused of a felony, at the request of the accused.
Article No person shall be compelled to testify
against himself, nor shall the testimony of a wife or husband be accepted
in
evidence against the spouse of such wife or husband.
No confession shall be valid unless made in the presence of counsel for the accused,
nor shall it be valid if made under compulsion or torture or threat.
No person shall be convicted and punished in cases where the only proof against
him is his own confession.
Article No ex post facto law shall be enacted, nor
any punishment inflicted penalizing any person for an act lawful at the time
it was committed.
Article The right of extraditing persons from Japan
who have fled from or escaped justice in foreign countries shall not be denied
in such cases when official representatives of such foreign nations may request
it.
PIETER K. ROEST |
Lt Col, TC |
|
BEATE SIROTA |
|
HARRY EMERSON WILDES |
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
The Committee on the Executive submits the following report:
CHAPTER IV
The Executive
Article XXIX. The executive power is vested in a
Cabinet.
The Cabinet consists of a Prime Minister, who is its head, and such other Ministers
of State as may be authorized by the Diet. In the exercise of the executive power,
the Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Diet.
Article XXX. The Emperor appoints as Prime Minister
the person designated by the Diet.
The Prime Minister shall with the advice and consent of the Diet appoint Ministers
of State.
The Prime Minister may remove individual Ministers at will.
Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of Prime Minister or upon the convening
of a new Diet, the Cabinet shall collectively resign and a new Prime Minister
shall be designated. Pending such designation, the Cabinet shall continue to
perform its duties.
Article XXXI. The Prime Minister introduces bills
on behalf of the Cabinet, reports to the Diet on general affairs of state and
the status of foreign relations and exercises control and supervision over the
several executive departments and agencies.
Article XXXII. In addition to other executive responsibilities,
the Cabinet shall:
Conduct foreign relations;
Conclude such treaties, international conventions and agreements with the consent
of the Diet by prior authorization or subsequent ratification as it deems in
the public interest;
Administer the civil service according to standards established by the Diet;
Faithfully execute laws and administer the affairs of state;
Prepare and submit to the Diet an annual budget;
Issue orders and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Constitution
and the law, but no such order or regulation shall contain a penal provision;
and
Grant amnesty, pardon, commutation of punishment, reprieve and rehabilitation.
Article XXXIII. Acts of the Diet and executive orders
shall be signed by the competent Minister of State and countersigned by the Prime
Minister.
Article XXXIV. Cabinet Ministers shall not be subject
to judicial process during their tenure of office without the consent of the
Prime Minister, but no right of action shall be impaired by reason hereof.
Cyrus H. Peake |
CYRUS H. PEAKE |
Chairman |
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM TO THE CONSTITUTION STEERING COMMITTEE:
We dissent from the provisions of this draft which deny to the Prime Minister
authority to dissolve the Diet and appeal to the people when major legislation
introduced by him fails to receive favorable consideration from the Diet. This
omission gravely compromises the workability of a cabinet system. It reproduces
the very weakest feature of French experience by inducing the executive to resign
while denying him any bargaining power in cases of disagreement with the Diet.
Or it inflicts on the Japanese the most difficult feature of the American system,
the possibility of a deadlock between the executive and the legislature, the
Diet rejecting the Prime Minister's bills, the latter, though discredited, clinging
to office. It is not likely, in our opinion, that the Prime Minister would abuse
his power to dissolve, since every dissolution endangers his continuity in office
as well as that of the legislature. Under the proposed system, a Diet will seldom
vote non confidence, since it may by other devices reject government measures
without risking its won tenure.
Government under modern conditions requires a strong and responsible executive.
of an executive depends on his ability to pilot a consistent policy through the
legislature. A Diet, representing as legislatures must, divergent political,
sectional and economic interests, will tend to pull in many directions. Under
these conditions an irresponsible Diet is as much to be feared as an irresponsible
executive The irresponsible tendencies of the Diet, in keeping with decades of
experience
in Parliamentary government, can best be disciplined by an executive who enjoys
the power to dissolve a Diet which fails to act favorably on his major proposals.
This power and the threat of its use tend to assure a stable yet responsible
executive.
The omission of this important power may, contrary to our intention, saddle the
feeble and inexperienced Japanese democracy with devices which have seriously
tried the most delicate political skill of veteran democratic peoples. There
is a greater likelihood of success if we provide the Japanese with governmental
devices which long experience has indicated are most likely to develop stable
democratic institutions.
Milton J. Esman |
MILTON J. ESMAN |
1st Lt, TC |
|
Jacob I. Miller |
JACOB I. MILLER |
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
The committee for preparing the section on "The Judiciary" submits the following
report:
Chapter V
THE JUDICIARY
Article LVII. A strong and independent judiciary being the bulwark of the people's
rights, the whole judicial power of Japan is vested in a Supreme Court and in
such inferior courts as the Diet shall from time to time establish. No extraordinary
tribunal shall be established, nor shall any organ or agency of the Executive
Branch be given final judicial power. All judges shall be independent in the
exercise of their conscience and shall be bound only by this Constitution and
the laws enacted pursuant thereto. The Supreme Court is vested with the rule-making
power under which it determines the rules of practice and of procedure, the admission
of attorneys, the internal discipline of the courts, the administration of judicial
affairs, and such other matters as may properly affect the free exercise of the
judicial power. Public procurators shall be officers of the court and subject
to its rule-making power. The Court may delegate the power to make rules for
inferior courts to such courts. No disciplinary action shall be administered
by any executive organ or agency, and removals shall be accomplished by public
impeachment only.
Article LVIII. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice and such number
of associate justices as may be determined by the Diet.
All such justices shall be appointed by the Cabinet and shall
hold office during good behavior, or upon the attainment of the age of 65 years
whichever is the sooner provided however that the name of each incumbent shall
be submitted to the electorate to determine his retention in office at the first
general election following his appointment and every 10 years thereafter. Upon
a majority vote of the electorate not to retain the incumbent the office shell
become vacant. All such justices shall receive, at regular, stated intervals,
adequate compensation which shall not be decreased during their terms of office.
Article LIX. The judges of the inferior courts shall be appointed by the Cabinet
from a list which for each vacancy shall contain the names of at least two persons
nominated by the Supreme Court. All such justices shall hold office for a term
of 10 years with privilege of reappointment and shall receive, at regular, stated
intervals, adequate compensation which shall not be decreased during their terms
of office. No judge shall hold office after attaining the age of 65 years.
Article LX. The Supreme Court is the court of final resort. Where the determination
of the constitutionality of any law, ordinance, regulation or official act is
in question, the judgment of the Supreme Court in all cases arising under or
involving Chapter of this Constitution is final;
in all other cases where determination of the constitutionality of any law, ordinance,
regulation or official act is in question, the judgment of the Court is subject
to review by the Diet. A judgment of the Supreme Court which is subject to review
may be set aside only by the concurring vote of two-thirds of the whole number
of representatives of the Diet.
The Diet shall establish rules of procedure for reviewing decisions
of the Supreme Court. In all cases affecting ambassadors, consuls, and ministers
of state, the Supreme
Court has exclusive original jurisdiction.
Article LXI. Trials shall be conducted and judgment declared publicly. Where,
however, the Court unanimously determines publicity to be dangerous to public
order or morals, a trial may be conducted privately, but trials of political
offenses, offenses of the press, and cases wherein the rights of citizens as
reserved in Chapter II of this Constitution are in question, shall to conducted
publicly without exception.
A. R. HUSSEY, JR |
Comdr, USNR |
|
MARGARET STONE |
|
MILO E. ROWELL |
Lt Col., AUS |
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
Government Section
Public Administration Division
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF, GOVERNMENT SECTION.
1. The Committee on Public Finance submits the following report:
CHAPTER
FINANCE
Article The powers of the State to levy taxes, borrow
money, appropriate funds, issue and regulate the value of coins and currency
shall be exercised through the Diet.
Article The imposition of a new tax or the modification
of the rates (of an existing one) shall be determined by law.
The raising of national loans and the contraction of other liabilities to the
charge of the National Treasury shall require the consent of the Diet.
Article The taxes levied at present shall, in so
far as they are not remodelled by a new law, be collected according to the old
system.
Article The expenditure and revenue of the State
require the consent of the Diet by means of an annual Budget which shall reflect
the fiscal program for the next ensuing fiscal year, including all proposed expenditures
and anticipated income.
The entire income of the Imperial Household shall be turned into the public treasury
and the expenses of the Imperial Household shall be appropriated by the Diet
in the annual Budget.
Article The Diet may disapprove, reduce, increase
or
reject any item in the Budget or add new items.
The Diet shall appropriate no money for any fiscal year in excess of the income
provided for that period.
Article No public money or property shall be appropriated
for the use, benefit or support of any system of religion, or religious institution
or association, or for any charitable, educational or benevolent purposes not
under the control of the State.
Article In order to supply unavoidable deficiencies
in the Budget and to meet requirements unprovided for in the same, a Reserve
Fund may be provided in the Budget.
If a Reserve Fund should be paid, it shall be necessary to obtain approval of
the Diet later.
Article If the budget should fail to secure parliamentary
approval within the fiscal year, the government shall make and enforce a temporary
budget covering a period of three months within the limits of the budget of the
preceding fiscal year under such conditions as the Diet may prescribe. In the
case of the preceding item if the Diet should be out of session, the government
shall immediately convoke a session and submit the Budget from which is removed
the part concerning the period of that fiscal year fixed in the preceding item.
Article The final account of the expenditures sad
revenue of the State shall be verified sad confirmed by the Board of Audit, and
it shall be submitted by the Government to the Diet together with the report
of verification of the said Board.
The organization and competency of the Board of Audit shall be determined by
the Diet.
Article At regular intervals no
less than yearly the government shall report to the Diet and the people on the
state of the public finances.
Frank Rizzo |
FRANK RIZZO |
Capt, CMP |
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
In order to provide for the lawful administration of government in their respective
jurisdictions, the prefectural, city, town and village governments in order to
meet local conditions will have the power to levy and collect taxes; the power
to establish and maintain a local police force; and such other powers of government
not specifically reserved in this Constitution or at variance with the laws passed
by the Diet.
In order to provide for the lawful administration of government in their respective
jurisdictions, the prefectures, cities, towns and villages in order to meet local
conditions will have the power to establish laws and ordinances in conformity
with this constitution and the laws passed by the Diet.
Section III |
ELECTIVE OFFICES |
The governor of each prefecture, the mayor of each city, the head-men of the
towns and villages and all the members of each respective assembly will be elected
to office by popular vote. All other officials will receive office by either
popular election or by local appointment.