Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0272, 1946-02-04.
Date4 February, 1946
translation numberpolitical-1111
call numberDS801 .S85
Persistent Identifier
POLITICAL SERIES: 272
ITEM 1 The Tentative Plan of the Constitutional Problem Investigation Committee - Mainichi Shimbun - 1 Feb 46. Translator: N. Tachibana.
Full Translation:
The Constitution Investigation Committee has held meetings more then twenty times
under the chairmanship of State Minister
MATSUMOTO since November of last year. At those meetings every committeeman submitted
his private plan for the revision of the
Constitution, which consisted of "A" plan and "B" plan, and debated on them. Consequently,
the draft was completed at the
meeting on 26 January and is to be decided finally at the plenary meeting on 2 February.
The Government is speeding up its decision to submit the draft of the revised constitution
to the Allied Headquarters and the
Far East Committee, and introduced it to the extraordinary Cabinet meeting with State
Minister MATSUMOTO's explanation article
by article on 30 January. Ministers expressed, their opinions actively, and debated
on it at the extraordinary Cabinet meeting
on 31 January,
The Tentative Plan of The Constitution Investigation Committee:
Chapter 1: The Emperor.
Article 1: JAPAN shall be a monarchy.
Article 2: The Emperor shall be the monarch and exercise sovereign power under the
provisions of this constitution.
Article 3: The Throne shall be succeeded by the line of Emperor's sons and grandsons
unbroken for ages eternal under the
provisions of the Imperial House Law.
Article 4: The Emperor shall not be responsible for his deeds.
Article 5: (status quo)
Article 6:
Article 7: The Emperor shall convoke the Imperial Diet and order its opening, closing,
prolongation and dissolution.
Article 8: The Emperor shall issue an Imperial ordinance to be based on law through
the debate of the Investigation Committee
of the Imperial Diet under the necessity of maintaining public peace or preventing
public calamity. This Imperial ordinance
shall be submitted to the next session of the Imperial Diet. If the Diet should not approve of it, the Government must
announce officially that it shall be ineffective in the future.
POLITICAL SERIES: 272 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
Article 9: The Emperor shall issue a necessary order or have it issued to enforce
law, but shall not be allowed to change the
law by his order.
Article 10: The Emperor shall establish the Government organization of each administrative
department, pay the Government
officials, and appoint and dissmiss officials as in corresponding articles on special
cases mentioned in this constitution or
other laws.
Article 11: (eliminated)
Article 12:
Article 13: The Emperor shall conclude every treaty, but in the case of treaties
concerning matters to be fixed by law, and
one which puts the country under a serious obligation, it shall be necessary for him
to obtain the approval of the Imperial
Diet. The Emperor shall order the promulgation and enforcement of all treaties. A treaty shall have the full force
and effect of law as soon as it is promulgated.
Article 14: (eliminated)
Article 15: The Emperor shall give marks of honor.
Article 16: (status quo)
Article 17: (status quo)
Chapter 2: Right and Duty of Subjects
Article 18: (status quo)
Article 19: Every Japanese subject shall be equal from a legal point of view. Every
Japanese subject shall be allowed to be
appointed as a Government official or to engage in other official business equally
under qualifications fixed by law.
Article 20: Every Japanese subject shall have a duty to engage in an honorary post
or other official business under the
provisions of law.
Article 21: (status quo)
Article 22: Every Japanese subject shall have freedom of residence, movement, and
occupation. Necessary restrictions to the
public good shall be under the provisions of the law.
Article 23: (status quo)
Article 24:
Article 25: No Japanese subject shall have his residence invaded and the restrictions
necessary to maintain public peace shall
be provided for under the law.
Article 26: No Japanese subject shall be violated as regards privacy of personal
correspondence, and the restrictions
necessary to maintain public peace shall be under the provisions of the law.
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POLITICAL SERIES: 272 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
Article 27: (status quo)
Article 28: Every Japanese subject shall have freedom of religion and the restrictions
necessary to maintain public peace
shall be under the provisions of the law.
The privileges that every shrine has ever had shall be abolished.
Article 29: Every Japanese subject shall have freedom of speech, writing, publishing,
meeting and association and the
restrictions necessary to maintain public peace shall be under the provisions of the
law.
Article 30, Item 1: Every Japanese subject shall be allowed to petition under the
previsions of the law.
Article 30, Item 2: Every Japanese subject shall have a right and duty to receive
education under the provisions of the
law.
Article 30, Item 3: Every Japanese subject shall have the right and duty of labor
under the provisions of the law.
Article 30, Item 4: No Japanese subject shall have his freedom and rights infringed
upon without recourse to law except on the
matters mentioned in this chapter.
Article 31: (eliminated)
Article 32: (status quo)
Chapter 3: The Imperial Diet
Article 33: The Imperial Diet shall be organized by both Houses of the House of State
Councillors (SANGI IN) and the House of
Representatives.
Article 34: The House of State Councillors shall be organized by the members elected
at every local deliberative assembly and
the members who are the representatives of every function under the provisions of
the House of State Councillors Law.
Article 35: The House of Representatives shall be organized by the members elected
in accordance with the fundamental
principles of liberty, equality, fairness and secrecy under the provisions of the
Election Law.
Article 36: (status quo)
Article 37:
Article 38:
Article 39:
Article 40:
Article 41:
Article 42: The Imperial Diet shall have a session of three months. If necessary,
the session shall be prolonged through an
Imperial ordinance or decision of each House.
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POLITICAL SERIES: 272 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
Article 43: If extraordinarily and urgently necessary in addition to a regular session,
an extraordinary session shall be
convoked
Both Houses shall be allowed to ask convocation of an extraordinary session through
agreement of more than one third of the
members of each House. The session of an extraordinary Diet shall be fixed by an Imperial ordinance
If necessary, the session shall be prolonged through an Imperial ordinance or decision
of each House.
Article 44, Item 1: (status quo)
Article 44, Item 2: If one House should be ordered to be dissolved the other one
shall be naturally closed.
Article 45: If the House should be ordered to be dissolved, its members shall be
immediately changed and an extraordinary
session shall be convoked within three months from the day of dissolution.
This rule, however shall not be applicable when a regular session is convoked during
that period.
Article 46: (status quo)
Article 47:
Article 48: ("Demand of the Government" is eliminated.)
Article 49: (status quo)
Article 50:
Article 5l:
Article 52:
Article 53: "Any member who is arrested before the opening of session shall be relieved
during that session if demanded by the
House." is added.
Article 54: (status que)
Article 54, Item 2 The Investigation Committee of the Imperial Diet shall be established
in the Imperial Diet under the
provisions of the Parliamentary Law. The Investigation Committee of the Imperial Diet shall be organized by the members
of both Houses. Even if every committeeman should lose his post as a member of the Diet on account
of the expiration of
his term of office or dissolution, he shall continue his duty until his successor
takes up his post.
Chapter 4: State Ministers
Article 55, Item 1: If Every state minister shall give his advice to the Emperor
and be responsible for him.
Article 55, Item 2: (status quo)
Article 55, Item 3: Every state minister shall need the confidence of the Imperial
Diet on his being in office. If one House
should decide upon the lack of confidence in any state minister, the Government shall
be allowed to
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POLITICAL SERIES: 272 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
petition to the Emperor to dissolve that House. However, if that House should decide
upon the lack of confidence in him again
at the next session, that state minister shall retire from office.
Article 56: All the state ministers shall organize a Cabinet, The system and official-
powers shall be fixed by the law.
Chapter 5: Indicature
Article 57: (status quo)
Article 58:
Article 59:
Article 60:
Article 61: Every lawsuit against any administrative Government office for infringement
on rights by illegal measures, or any
other lawsuits concerning administrative affairs shall fall under the jurisdiction
of a judicial court.
Chapter 6: Finance
Article 62: (status quo)
Article 63:
Article 64:
Article 65, Item 1: (status quo)
Article 65, Item 2: If the House of Representatives should remove or eliminate any
article or item of the budget, the House of
State Councillors shall not be allowed to restore it to its former state.
Article 66: The expenses of the Imperial Court shall be paid out of the treasury
every year at a specially fixed constant sum,
and approval of the Imperial Diet shall be unnecessary except where the increase of
the sum be necessary.
Article 67: "The determined annual expenditure based on constitutional sovereignty"
is eliminated.
Article 68: (status quo)
Article 69: Item Is (status quo)
Article 69, Item 2: Where a reserve fund is appropriated for necessary expenditures
other than by the budget, a debate at the
Investigation Committee of the Imperial Diet shall be necessary.
Article 69, Item 3: If a reserve fund should be raid, it shall be necessary to ask
approval of the Imperial Diet later.
Article 70: "Through the debate of the Investigation Committee of the Imperial Diet"
is added after the words, "If
impossible"
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POLITICAL SERIES: 272 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
Article 71: If the budget should fail to secure Parliamentary approval within the
fiscal year, the Government shall make a
temporary budget within a period of three months within the limits of the budget of
the preceding fiscal year under the
provisions of the Financial Law, and enforce it. In the ease of the preceding item,
if the Imperial Diet should be out of
session the Government shall immediately convoke a session and submit the budget which
docs not contain the past concerning
the period of that fiscal year fixed in the preceding item. If the budget fixed in
the preceding item should fail to secure
Parliamentary approval within the period fixed in Item 1, the Government shall make
and enforce a temporary budget according
to Item 1. The rule of the preceding item shall be applicable correspondingly to this
case.
Article 72: (status quo)
Chapter 7: Supplementary Rules
Article 73: Item 1: (status quo)
Article 73, Item 2: The members of both Houses shall be allowed to propose a revision
of the constitution through agreement of
more than one third of all the members of each House. Both Houses shall not be allowed
to debate on the revision of the
constitution, if more than two thirds of the members of each House should not be present,
Beth Houses shall not be allowed to
decide on any revision if more than two thirds of the members present should not agree.
The Emperor shall sanction the revision of the constitution decided at lie Imperial
Diet and order its promulgation and
enforcement.
Article 74: (status quo)
Article 75: (eliminated)
Article 76: (status quo)
DISTRIBUTION: "X"
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