Japanese Constitution and The Indian Constitution

Japanese Constitution: An Overview

Japan’s first constitution is known as the Meiji Constitution and was enacted in 1889. This constitution was influenced by the 1850s Prussian constitution and became Asia’s first western-style constitution. In 1854, Japan opened up its door to western countries. Hence, constitutionalism ideas and broad aspects of western culture, technology, and thought were introduced in Japan.

In 1868, after the Meiji Restoration, Japan was away from the feudal Samurai regime and moved to the modern unitary. During that time, Japan’s international circumstances were disturbing and all the western countries were advanced in comparison with East Asian countries. Therefore, the most important and main policies of the Japanese government were to build a strong and wealthy country.

Features of the Japanese Constitution

• The Japanese constitution was a rigid and written one
• The emperor’s sovereign was inviolable and sacred
• The parliament has two houses – the House of Representatives and the House of Peers
• The legislative power was exercised with the Imperial diet’s consent
• The court of law could exercise the judicial powers in the ‘name of the emperor’
• The court also has no power in any of the administrative cases

The Japanese constitution and the Indian Constitution: Comparison

One of the most important characteristics of the Indian constitution is borrowed from the Japanese constitution – ‘procedure established by law’. This is regarding the right to personal liberty, the right to life of the Indian constitution. In the Japanese constitution, article 31 also mentioned the right to personal liberty and life. According to the law procedure in the Japanese constitution, no criminal liability is allowed to be imposed. This article is similar to Article 21 of the Indian constitution.

Article 21

No person can be denied the right to personal liberty and right to life, except based on the procedure that is established by law. This feature in the Indian constitution preserves the natural justice process. In Japan, combined efforts of different articles such as Articles 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 mentioned a person’s natural right. Through a court’s different interpretations, natural justice was protected. The Indian constitution was influenced by Article 31 of the Japanese constitution.

Japanese Constitution Article 9

The Japanese constitution Article 9 is a clause in Japan’s national constitution that prohibits war to settle worldwide disputes, including the state. Japanese constitution article 9 was effective after World War II, on 3rd May 1947. Hence, it is also known as the Japanese Constitution 1947. The state also renounces the aims of international peace and the sovereign right of belligerency based on order and justice. In this article, it is also mentioned that to fulfil these aims, war potential armed forces will not be maintained. This constitution was imposed to occupy the United States after the world-war II period.

The Indian Constitution

On the 26th of January, 1950, the Indian Constitution came into force. At the time of its adoption in the Indian Constitution, there were 395 articles in 22 parts, as well as 8 schedules. Additional parts and articles are added later through different amendments. The constitution was 145,000 words long and it was declared the longest national constitution to be ever adopted. There are 12 schedules in the Indian Constitution. Repealed articles and Preamble parts are specially mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

Characteristics of the Indian Constitution

• The Indian constitution is the longest and lengthiest constitution in the world
• The basic structure of the Indian constitution, for instance, judiciary, federal scheme, emergency powers, governors, administrative details and public service commission etc. and these are based on the Government of India Act 1935
• The Indian constitution has a federal system of government having unitary features
• Federal system of government is a dual system of government, one in the centre and the other is the state
• Hence, powers are divided between the judiciary, executive and legislature
• India has an independent authority of its own
• No external power can dominate India
• In India, only the legislature has power for lawmaking and it also has certain limitations
• The Indian constitution is an established form of constitution and people express their rights by voting in the election
• The Indian constitution is a secular constitution
• By 42nd Amendment 1976, the term ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble
• Secular means all the Indian religions must get equal protection, respect as well as support from their state

Conclusion

On a concluding note, we have discussed here the Japanese constitution and the important facts mentioned in its preamble. The Japanese constitution is also known as the ‘post-war constitution’ or the ‘peace constitution’. The three main characteristics of the Japanese constitution are – fundamental human rights, people’s sovereignty, and pacifism. In the Indian Constitution, there were 395 articles in 22 parts, as well as 8 schedules. Additional parts and articles are added later through different amendments. The constitution was 145,000 words long and it was declared the longest national constitution to be adopted ever. 12 schedules are there in the Indian Constitution.