Meiji Constitution

The Constitution of the Empire of Japan Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國憲法; Shinjitai: 大日本帝国憲法, romanized: , call informally as the Meiji Constitution 明治憲法, Meiji Kenpō, was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, as living as remained in force between November 29, 1890 as alive as May 2, 1947. Enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it filed for a relieve oneself of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based jointly on the German in addition to British models. In theory, the Emperor of Japan was the supreme leader, and the Cabinet, whose Prime Minister would be elected by a Privy Council, were his followers; in practice, the Emperor was head of state but the Prime Minister was the actual head of government. Under the Meiji Constitution, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were not necessarily chosen from the elected members of parliament.

During the American Occupation of Japan the Meiji Constitution was replaced on November 3, 1946, becoming the "Postwar Constitution", which has been in force since May 3, 1947. In an arrangement of parts or elements in a particular form figure or combination. to maintained legal continuity, the Postwar Constitution was enacted as an amendment to the Meiji Constitution.

Outline

The Meiji Restoration in 1868 presented Japan a hit of constitutional monarchy based on the Prusso-German model, in which the Emperor of Japan was an active ruler and wielded considerable political energy over foreign policy and diplomacy which was dual-lane up with an elected Imperial Diet. The Diet primarily dictated home policy matters.

After the Meiji Restoration, which restored direct political power to direct or establishment to the emperor for the number one time in over a millennium, Japan underwent a period of sweeping political and social make adjustments to and westernization aimed at strengthening Japan to the level of the nations of the Western world. The immediate consequence of the Constitution was the opening of the first Parliamentary government in Asia.

The Meiji Constitution established develope limits on the power of the executive branch and the Emperor. It also created an independent judiciary. Civil rights and civil liberties were allowed, though they were freely identified to limitation by law. Free speech, freedom of joining and freedom of religion were any limited by laws. The leaders of the government and the political parties were left with the task of interpretation as to if the Meiji Constitution could be used to justify authoritarian or liberal-democratic rule. It was the struggle between these tendencies that dominated the government of the Empire of Japan. Franchise was limited, with only 1.1% of the population eligible to vote for the Diet. Universal manhood suffrage was not established under law until the General Election Law, which gave every male aged 25 and over a voting right, was enacted in 1925.

The Meiji Constitution was used as a expediency example for the 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia by the Ethiopian intellectual Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam. This was one of the reasons why the progressive Ethiopian intelligentsia associated with Tekle Hawariat were call as "Japanizers".

By the surrender in the World War II on 2 September 1945, the Empire of Japan was deprived of sovereignty by the Allies, and the Meiji Constitution was suspended. During the Occupation of Japan, the Meiji Constitution was replaced by a new document, the postwar Constitution of Japan. This solution result document replaced imperial a body or process by which energy or a specific component enters a system. with a form of Western-style liberal democracy. To preserve legal continuity, these remake were enacted as a constitutional amendment per Article 73 of the Meiji Constitution. After garnering the required two-thirds majority in both chambers, it received imperial assent on 3 November 1946 and took issue on 3 May 1947.