On the Constitution of Japan : In an International Political Perspective (Special Issue Dedicated to Professor Yoshio MORIMOTO)

Aftter the defeat, Japan was occupied by the Allied Forces headed by D. MacArthur. The Japanese surrendered according to the term of the Potsdam Proclamation which specified the conditions for cease-fire. The Allied Forces made radical reforms against Japan to deprive it of the ability to wage war so that it could never stand as the threat to the Allied Nations again. In order to make domestic reforms, Roosevelt called for the unconditional surrender to Japan and Germany in the World War II. It is the first case in the history that the winners impose political and economical reforms to the losers, and open the war tribute to punish the politicians and military men of the losers. Among these reforms the Allied Forces made up the constitution and forced to accept it to the Japanese government. The constitution of Japan is a result of the defeat of war. It has many odd characters. The most peculiar one is its pacifism expressed by the Article 9 which renouces all wars and bellibelencies. Many Japanese think this coming from regrets of the World War II and idealistic feelings. But they forget the historical fact that the constitution was made by not the Japanese but the Americans. In those days the Japanese lost the sovereignty and were ruled by General MacArthur. It is an irony that those who had no sovereignty under occupation were said to get the sovereignty by the constitution. And it was a grave violation to the Potsdam Proclamation and the Atlantic Charter. The pacifism of the constitution of Japan came from an intent that the Allied Nations made Japan impotent. The article 9 refused the national security and war for defending itself. It is unbelievable that a constitution refuses the national security because it means that the constitution recognizes the possibility that the society could be conquested by the other nation. But if the constitution was made by the foreigners who have no responsibility to the survival of society, it may be the case. In the case of the constitution of Japan, it was set according to the Potsdam proclamation. And the American officers drafted the constitution for 9 days. The purpose was to destroy the Japanese war machines for ever. They didn't take account for the Japanese national security after the peace treaty. When the Korean War broke out, they found their mistake. They ordered the Japanese government to rearm. At the same time, the United States have concluded the mutual security treaty with Japan and maintained the military bases in Japan at the end of occupation. Thus the United States hold the power to Japan. So Japan is not a fullfledged sovereign nation. The constitution is the symbol of a subject nation. In conclusion, we can say that, to date, Japan has been bound by the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese inherited a negative heritage of history. But even now many Japanese don't wake up to the historical and political bondage.9KJ00004282724論文Articledepartmental bulletin pape