Constitution of the Empire of Japan, in effect from 1890 to 1947
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Bicameral (Imperial Diet: House of Representatives, House of Peers)
Executive
Cabinet, led by a Prime Minister
Judiciary
Supreme Court
Federalism
Unitary
Electoral college
No
History
First legislature
February, 11 1889 (HP)
July 1, 1890 (HR)
First executive
1885
Repealed
May 3, 1947
Amendments
0 (no amendments)
Location
National Archives of Japan
Author(s)
Inoue Kowashi, Kaneko Kentarō, Itō Miyoji and Iwakura Tomomi, along with a number of foreign advisors
Signatories
Emperor Meiji on February 11, 1889
Supersedes
Tokugawa Shogunate
Full text
Constitution of the Empire of Japan at Wikisource
大日本帝国憲法(Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kenpō) at Japanese Wikisource
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The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國憲法; Shinjitai: 大日本帝国憲法, romanized:Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kenpō), known 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, and remained in force between November 29, 1890, and May 2, 1947.[1] Enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based jointly on the German and British models.[2] 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 with the "Postwar Constitution" on November 3, 1946; the latter document has been in force since May 3, 1947. In order to maintain legal continuity, the Postwar Constitution was enacted as an amendment to the Meiji Constitution.
^Hein, Patrick (2009). How the Japanese became foreign to themselves : the impact of globalization on the private and public spheres in Japan. Berlin: Lit. p. 72. ISBN 978-3643100856.
and 24 Related for: Meiji Constitution information
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國憲法; Shinjitai: 大日本帝国憲法, romanized: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kenpō), known informally as the Meiji Constitution...
after World War II. The current Japanese constitution was promulgated as an amendment of the MeijiConstitution of 1890 on 3 November 1946 when it came...
of Meiji Japan (明治政府, Meiji seifu) was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government...
The Meiji era (明治時代, Meiji jidai, [meꜜː(d)ʑi] ) was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was...
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm, as enshrined in the MeijiConstitution of 1889...
the Meiji Restoration. Each was a seitai, a form of government. In this understanding, the modern system of government under the MeijiConstitution, derived...
1912 Meiji era, the name given to that period in Japanese history Meiji Restoration, the revolution that began the Meiji period MeijiConstitution, the...
The Meiji Restoration (Japanese: 明治維新, romanized: Meiji Ishin), referred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration (御一新, Goisshin), and also known as...
3 November 1852 – 30 July 1912), posthumously honored as Emperor Meiji (明治天皇, Meiji-tennō), was the 122nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional...
Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū) is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress...
other parts of Japanese society at several points in history. In the MeijiConstitution which occurred in 1889, the emperor was sovereign and was the focus...
used in the past. Before the adoption of the MeijiConstitution, Japan had in practice no written constitution. Originally, a Chinese-inspired legal system...
MeijiConstitution six years prior. Thereafter, Japanese colonization stoked fierce debates surrounding the applicability of the MeijiConstitution towards...
Imperial Diet in 1890 under the MeijiConstitution, and took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the post-war constitution. Both houses meet in the...
(内務省, Naimu-shō) was a Cabinet-level ministry established under the MeijiConstitution that managed the internal affairs of Empire of Japan from 1873 to...
reigned as a constitutional monarch and was the head of state under the MeijiConstitution during Japanese imperial expansion particularly in China, militarization...
government continued to formally operate under the provisions of the MeijiConstitution. Furthermore, at General MacArthur's insistence, Emperor Hirohito...
judiciary was far more constrained under the MeijiConstitution than it is under the present Constitution and had no authority over administrative or constitutional...
— Peter L. Berger, Holy Canopy: Sociology of the Holy World The MeijiConstitution said that subjects will have freedom of religion as long as it does...
Japanese nation-state that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the reformed Constitution of Japan in 1947. From 29 August 1910...
office in 1885, until the present day. 32 prime ministers under the MeijiConstitution had a mandate from the Emperor. The "electoral mandates" shown are...
against public order. The promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (i.e. the “MeijiConstitution”), confirmed and formalized its position at...
restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western-modeled constitution, and pursued a program of industrialization...