Meiji Constitution

The Constitution of the Empire of Japan（大日本帝國憲法）, more commonly known as the Imperial or Meiji Constitution, was the fundamental law of the Empire of Japan from 1889 until 1947. Enacted as part of the Meiji Renewal, it provided for a form of constitutional monarchy based on the Prussian model, in which the Emperor of Japan was an active ruler and wielded considerable political power, but shared this with an elected diet. In 1947, following Japan's defeat and occupation at the end of the Second World War, the Meiji Constitution was replaced by a new document, called simply the 'Constitution of Japan', which attempted to replace the imperial system with a form of Western-style liberal democracy.

Drafting and enactment

Prior to the adoption of the Meiji Constitution, Japan had no written constitution and, in theory at least, the Emperor governed as an absolute monarch. The new constitution was adopted as part of the Meiji Renewal, a period of sweeping political and social reform aimed at modernising Japan, so that she might reach a par with the nations of the Western world. Rejecting the British constitution as a model, influential conservatives such as Iwakura Tomomi borrowed heavily from the Prussian constitution in drafting a fundamental law. Ito Hirobumi, a Choshu native long involved in government affairs, was charged with drafting Japan's constitution, and announced in 1881 that the task would be finished within a decade. The following year, he led a Constitutional Study Mission abroad, spending most of his time in Germany. He rejected the United States Constitution as "too liberal" and the British system for being too unwieldy and granting too much power to Parliament. The French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism. Ito was put in charge of the new Bureau for Investigation of Constitutional Systems in 1884, and the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet headed by Ito as prime minister. The positions of Chancellor, Minister of the Left, and Minister of the Right, which had existed since the seventh century as advisory positions to the emperor, were all abolished. In their place, the Privy Council was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution, and to advise the Emperor.

Related Topics:
Constitution - Absolute monarch - British constitution - Iwakura Tomomi - Ito Hirobumi - Choshu - 1881 - Germany - United States Constitution - 1884 - 1885 - Seventh century - 1888

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The new constitution was not ultimately adopted by an elected assembly, or submitted to a plebiscite, but simply enacted by the Emperor himself. It was adopted on 11 February, 1889 but came into effect on 29 November, 1890. The first Imperial Diet, a new representative assembly based upon the Prussian diet, convened on the same day as the constitution came into force. The structure of the Diet showed both Prussian and British influences, most notably in the inclusion of the House of Peers (which resembled the Prussian Herrenhaus and the British House of Lords), and of the Speech from the Throne. The second chapter of the constitution, in detailing the rights of citizens, bore a resemblance to similar articles in both European and North American constitutions of the day.

Related Topics:
Plebiscite - 11 February - 1889 - 29 November - 1890 - Imperial Diet - House of Peers - Herrenhaus - House of Lords - Speech from the Throne

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