Japan

Japan’s Article IX of the Peace Constitution:

Its Evolution and impact,

The end of World War II came about by Japan surrendering unconditionally to the Allied Forces. Japan knew that this would mean the end of their constitutional monarchy and a possible occupation of a foreign army. What they could not have known was that the Allied powers would rewrite their constitution and leave them with out the ability of ever amassing an army again. Article IX of the Japanese Constitution would do just that. This was the Allied way to insure that Japan would never again have the power or militaristic influence to threaten Asia or the world as they had done.

As Japan grew out of the ashes of World War II, they would become Asia’s prominent allies with the Western nations in many ways. This led to a re-interruption of Japan’s Article IX allowing a “Self Defense Force” which would evolve in to what it has become today. Some people view these changes to be in direct violation of the constitution. Others feel that more aggressive steeps need to be taken to advance the development of a formal military in order for Japan to become a “normal” nation so that it will no longer be a diplomatic midget that has to rely on The United States as their source of protection (Japan Echo, June 1999). The origins of Article IX, its development and the controversy stemming form this progression along with its implications are the topics that will be discussed in this paper in attempt to understand how the United States and Japan prepare for the 21st century.

The original task of drawing up Japan’s new constitution was given to a government lawyer named Matsumoto Joji in October 1945 (Schaller, p.42). He and his staff drafted many versions of their then current Meiji Constitution. Most of these attempts left the Emperor with some control in the government and was the primary reason why they were rejected. After nearly four months of Japanese revisions, Commander in Chief General Douglas MacArthur reassigned the task to General Courtney Whitney. Less then a week after receiving the task, he and his staff completed it and presented it to the Japanese on the February 13, 1946. The Japanese delegates were dismayed about the complete removal of the Emperor from government and being reduced to a figurehead. There were a few minor changes made but as a whole the Constitution, known as the Peace Constitution, was pushed through the Japanese government by November 1946 and it went into effect May 3, 1947 (Gustafson).

Throughout this entire document one can feel the overtone of a subjector who wanted to make sure that the people of the land would have the sovereign power and that fractions of the population would never rise to military dominance. The preface is a prime example of this. The first line states that the people are now bound by duty to be a representative form of government and that they will “never again …be visited with the horrors of war through the actions of government.” The preface is almost reminiscent of an owner of a puppy, when the puppy was bad on the carpet and got his nose rubbed in it.

“…We, the Japanese people desire peace for all time…and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trust …and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world…We recognize that all peoples of the world have the right to live in peace, free form fear and want. We believe that no nation is responsible to itself alone…We, the Japanese people, pledge our national honor to accomplish these high ideals and purpose with all our resources.” The Constitution of Japan, Preface, 3 Nov 1946

There is no doubt that the United States wanted to send a clear-cut message that what Japan did will not be accepted. At the same time the United States did not want to put Japan through the economic and internal instability that Germany had just under gone with their defeat in World War I. The mentality that now you are beaten we, the victors will keep you down with war debt and guilt. The Western powers wanted to rebuild the nation of Japan in hopes of democratic stability. But it was agreed that Japan should never be allowed to re-amass the military might it once had. It should be helped back up on their feet and become a peaceful nation of the world. Article IX was installed to facilitate this desire.

Article IX

Aspiring sincerely to an internationals peace base on justice and order, the Japanese