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Japanese Constitution Changes

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The Constitution of Japan was promulgated in November 3, 1946 and came into effect 6 months later on May 3, 1947. Since then, it has never been amended. For over 65 years, the fundamental laws that govern Japan hasn’t changed. This could mean two things. Either, the Constitution is so superb that it needs no revision or it is inefficient. The Constitution of Japan is patently functioning as Japan is a peaceful and democratic country. However, this doesn’t mean the underlying structure of Japan shouldn’t be revised as the world changes. The Constitution of Japan has been efficient so far but it needs to adapt. The creation of a new Japanese Constitution were already in the minds of the Allied Forces in 1945 at Potsdam. From July 17th to August …show more content…

He promptly resigned and started working as a imperial appointee at the Office of the Privy Seal to revise the constitution. After presenting the first draft to Emperor Hirohito on November 22, 1945, the draft was presented to MacArthur in February of next year. MacArthur rejected this draft by calling it “nothing more than a rewording of the old Meiji constitution." To take the task upon himself and also to eschew other Allied Forces, he created a committee that consisted of 25 members. Most members were military officers and others were civilians. The committee was all American. No Japanese were involved in the making of the Japanese constitution. MacArthur commanded the committee to have an revised constitution of Japan in a week. He wanted a draft by the first Far Eastern Commission which was on the 26th of February. A member in the committee, Beate Sirota Gordon recounts the event as follows; “we were stunned of course. But, on the other hand, when you're in the army and you get an order, you just do it. You just go ahead.” Immediately after it was done, the constitution was validated by …show more content…

International politics functions with the presence of military in the background. The U.S. for example, has the largest military in the world and consequently is the most influential country in the world. The revision of Article 9 may allow the SDF to engage in combats. However, just because a country is allowed to have a war doesn’t necessary mean it will. If anything, the threat of a military fighting back will keep war further away. Japan is no longer in a post war period. Since the birth of the constitution, the world has changed and so should the Constitution of

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