Failure of the Revision of 1947 Japanese Constitution

The current constitution of Japan was made in 1946 and The Constitution came into effect on May 3, 1947, during the Allied Forces occupation after the World War II. With the adaptation of this constitution a lot of Japanese politicians believed that this will eventually be replaced as soon as the occupation will be over. Many have questioned the resilience of Japan to this issue but inspite of this, the efforts of revising the 1947 constitution was never successful.
Some time between 1948 and 1949, General Douglas McArthur had given Japan an opportunity to amend the constitution just to check the response of the citizens. However the Japanese Governement has only presented very few proposals for minor revisions. At the same time the government did not invite the public to respond through a national referendum. With this response MacArthur determined that Japan would eradicate war as a sovereign right of the nation. War would be relinquished as a way to settle disputes with the other countries especially USA and as a means to preserve security. This signifies that Japanese government and people overlooked the opportunity to amend the constitution when invited to do so, indicates an early level of support that renders the claim of foreign imposition.

After the world War and the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan was devastated with it great defeat and considered as having a status of ground zero. Being under the US after the war is like being in rehabilitation instuitution. Considering that Japan lacks resources and its military has been disabled, it needed a strong foundation.

Looking at the most recent time, Japan still struggles to stand on its own. Changing the constitution would be difficult for the country. One reason is, it is very arduous to proceed with the revision process for it need s to be approved by at least 80% of the members of the National Diet. Japanese politicians are divided themselves with regards with the issue of revising the constitution. Half would like to conserve their traditional laws while the rest are more concerned in maintaining the peace constitution.

Japan is aware that they need America in some aspects. Why keep the constitution that would keep them from focusing on security? With the current status of Japan, they need to keep their eyes more with their economy. Of course, they need to fabricate strong relationship with their neighboring countries which apparently considered as threats as well. With slight revision of the institution, Japan is quite contented with a defense army, AT THE MOMENT. Keeping the constitution is like making a statement that they follow this because they still respect the agreement with U.S.

In finding out the reasons, it is very important to study the behavior of the state. After the War, Japan was cluttered with woes, regret and a sense of great loss. The nation is dealing what is available in the meantime. Of course, Japan has remained true to its national interests in discreet manner but they cannot let go if their foundation isn’t strong enough.