Conscription System

Conscription in modern Japan was introduced under the Conscription Ordinance of 1873. Under the Meiji Constitution, military service was imposed as a civic obligation, and, in principle, men aged 20 and above were subject to conscription. The conscription system became a fundamental component of the military and human mobilization of the modern Japanese state. After World War II, conscription was abolished under the democratization and demilitarization policies pursued under the direction of the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers (GHQ). The legal basis for the abolition of conscription has also been explained in relation to Article 18 of the Constitution of Japan, which prohibits “involuntary servitude and forced labor.”