2013

Full Draft

SANPEI Seiji

三瓶精二

SANPEI Seiji¹
Revised Draft of the Constitution of Japan²
2013

Preamble

The Japanese people enact this Constitution of Japan through their earnest desire for coexistence and coprosperity with the people of the world, their confirmed support for the endeavor to create a society where people may live in peace and stability, based on liberty, equality and security.
Note: It is better to avoid a prescriptive reading of the Preamble.³

Chapter I. Basic Principles

Note: Prescribes [provisions for] Japan’s territories, its people, liberalism, democracy, pacifism and international cooperation. These rights are available not only to the Japanese people but to the people of all nations.
Article 1.
The territories of Japan shall consist of the islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Shikoku and Kyūshū.
Note: This declares that Japan does not aspire to territorial expansion as it did before.
(2) The people of Japan shall comprise the children of Japanese nationals and residents of Japan who have acquired Japanese nationality.⁴
Note: In the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (the Meiji Constitution), Japanese subjects comprised all those outside the Emperor, the imperial household and the court nobility.⁵ In the Constitution of Japan, we may consider the Emperor not to be a Japanese national, as the position bears no right to vote or to be elected. This draft Constitution maintains that the Emperor is included as a Japanese national, thus taking it as a matter of course that the position requires a residential registration. The Emperor here has individual constitutional rights. The position may be abdicated at will.
(3) Japan is a democratic republic and the people of Japan are its sovereigns.

Article 2.
The people of Japan shall enjoy liberty, equality and security.
(2) Politics shall be enacted by the chosen representatives of the people of Japan, and the people of Japan shall enjoy the benefits thereof.
(3) Important matters may be resolved by a referendum. A referendum shall be initiated by assemblies, the heads of executive offices, or 5% or more of the electorate, and shall be decided according to the majority of the total number of votes cast.
(4) Referendums shall be carried out by the direct vote of the people of Japan who are registered as citizens in administrative districts.
(5) The result of a referendum shall take precedence over law and ordinance. Assemblies may not change the result of a referendum for two years.
Note: Increasing the elements of direct democracy is a means of guaranteeing democratic politics.

Article 3.
The people of Japan shall carry out justice, rely on the fairness and fidelity of the people of all nations, and maintain subsistence and security in cooperation with them.
(2) The people of all nations have the affirmed right to subsist in liberty and equality, in a peace that is free from terror and want.
(3) The people of Japan shall follow justice and principles of international law in realizing peaceful means of resolving or moderating international conflicts and situations.
(4) The people of Japan are forever prohibited from waging wars of aggression on the people of other countries.
Note: These ideas are based on principles expressed in the Versailles Treaty of 1919, the 1920 Covenant of the League of Nations, and the 1928 General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy, ratified by 15 participating nations including Japan, and which is succeeded by the current Charter of the United Nations.
(5) [The people of Japan] shall consent to restrictions on effecting their rights where necessary to securing order for peace and justice, based on terms equivalent to those imposed on the people of other countries.
Note: A concrete example of this is the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is the first permanent court in history that adjudicates individual responsibility for crimes against humanity including torture, massacre and genocide in conflict zones. It was established at the Hague in the Netherlands on May 17, 1998 by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference, based on the Regulations of the International Criminal Court. It has 139 signatories (Japan has yet to join), and has been ratified by 100 countries (not including Japan). Until the ICC, the Nuremberg Trials, the Tokyo Trials, the Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal, and the Rwanda International Tribunal were all separately established. 7 countries including the United States, China, and Israel voted against the Regulations of the International Criminal Court at the United Nations Diplomatic Conference. The United States strongly opposes it.

Article 4.
The Japanese language shall be the official language of Japan, and auxiliary languages may also be used.
(2) The national flag of Japan shall be the Rising Sun flag, consisting of a crimson circle on a white backdrop.

Chapter II. Supreme Law

Note: The stipulations on Supreme Law are important. They are thus placed at the head of the Constitution.
Article 5.
This Constitution is the supreme law of Japan, and any treaty, law, ordinance, order, or act of executive power that conflicts with its provisions, in whole or in part, shall be invalid.⁶
(2) Beginning with the Emperor and public officials, the people of Japan shall bear the obligation to faithfully observe and uphold the international laws established in this Constitution.

Article 6.
Enacting and amending the Constitution shall be decided by national referendum, initiated by the Diet, the Prime Minister, or 5% or more of the electorate, and according to a majority of votes in favor thereof from the total number of votes cast.
(2) Enactments and amendments when so ratified shall immediately be promulgated by the Emperor.⁷

Chapter III. Liberty

Note: Liberty is prescribed as the foremost category of human rights.
Article 7.
Liberty shall refer to the ability to do anything so long as it harms no other people.
(2) All human beings shall possess liberty.
(3) Liberty shall be a right conducted through personal responsibility that includes the obligation to tolerate the actions of other people.
(4) Liberty shall be tolerated within the bounds of the morality of a democratic society and the public good.

Article 8.⁸
All of the people shall enjoy the following freedoms provided they conform to the public good:
1. Freedom to receive education, to think, and to pursue knowledge.
2. Freedom of political opinion based on personal free will.
3. Freedom to broadly circulate facts.
4. Freedom to travel and to choose their residence.
5. Freedom to marry anyone based on equal standing and mutual consent.
6. Freedom to choose their occupation.
7. Freedom to own property individually or jointly.
8. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
9. Freedom to declare their religion and faith and to peacefully participate in events and ceremonies.
10. Freedom to move to a foreign country and to divest themselves of their nationality.

Chapter IV. Equality

Note: Equality is prescribed as the second category of human rights.
Article 9.
Equality shall be held identically by all regardless of whether they are being protected or prosecuted by the law.
(2) All humans shall have equality in terms of dignity and rights.
(3) Equality shall be a right for the individual and an obligation to avoid discriminating against other people.
(4) Every person shall be guaranteed equality of rights in every area of economic, political and cultural life.

Article 10.
All shall be guaranteed the following forms of equality:
1. Equality of non-discrimination in race, birth and lineage.
2. Equality of non-discrimination in age and sex.⁹
3. Equality of non-discrimination in occupation.
4. Equality of non-discrimination in thought and religion.
5. Equality of non-discrimination in status and property.

Chapter V. Security

Note: Security is prescribed as the third category of human rights.
Article 11.
Security shall be guaranteed for all as the preservation of life, body, rights and ownership.
(2) Every person shall enjoy the right to a comfortable living environment and bear the obligation to protect it.¹⁰
(3) Every person shall be guaranteed the minimum necessary amount of medical care for living and maintaining their individual dignity.
(4) No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious education, rite, ceremony, practice and act.¹¹
(5) Every person shall enjoy the right and the obligation to receive free primary and secondary education.¹²
(6) Parents shall have the preferential right to choose the type of education for their children.

Article 12.
Ownership shall be the right of every person to profit from and dispose of the results of their personal property, earnings and labor.
(2) Every person shall bear the obligation to use their ownership for the public good.
(3) Ownership of land shall be granted to those members of the people fit to manage it appropriately.
(4) Every person, should it be necessary for their property to be used for the public good as provided by law, will receive just compensation prior to its requisition.¹³

Article 13.
No person shall have their honor and trust infringed.
(2) No person shall have the stability of their residence infringed.
(3) No person shall be compelled to disclose their personal information except for the sake of the public good in matters provided by law.
(4) No person may disclose the personal information of any other person except in matters provided for by law and what any person has disclosed of their own volition.
(5) Every person shall have the right to access records pertaining to themselves in the possession of public organizations, and to demand the correction of errors therein.

Article 14.¹⁴
Every person shall have the right and the obligation to work.
(2) Employees shall have the right to be fairly treated, and to receive equal compensation for equal labor.
(3) Employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain and act collectively.
(4) Employees shall have the right to reasonable limits on working hours and regular paid leave, inclusive of leisure and rest time.
(5) The exploitation of children shall be prohibited.

Article 15.
Vulnerable members of society shall be attended to and protected.
(2) Infants, toddlers, schoolchildren and young people shall have their characters respected and specially protected.
(3) Pregnant and postpartum women shall be specially protected to maintain their health.
(4) The elderly and the disabled shall be protected.
(5) Every person shall have their family ties and the stability of their communal life protected.

Article 16.
The law may only provide prosecution that is clearly necessary.
(2) No person may be apprehended, detained, or prosecuted for acts following the enactment of a law, unless it is so provided by law.
(3) No person may be forcefully detained or imprisoned against their will except when they are punishable for a criminal offense.
(4) No person may receive inhumane or degrading treatment or penalties.
(5) The penalties of torture and cruelty are prohibited.
Note: Death by hanging is an inhumane and cruel punishment. Life imprisonment should be substituted.

Article 17.¹⁵
Every person shall have the right to an independent and fair trial and to receive a fair and transparent hearing.
(2) Every person shall be deemed innocent until proven guilty through the judgment of such a trial.
(3) No person may be apprehended unless in flagrante delicto, except when there is an order from a judge stating the reason therefor.
(4) Every person shall have the right to request the presence of an attorney during an investigation if they have been apprehended.
(5) The State shall refer a qualified attorney to defendants who are unable to hire one by their own means.
(6) When so demanded by an apprehended person, the reasons [for their arrest] must immediately be made public in an open trial attended by them and their attorney.
(7) No person shall be compelled to testify against themself.
(8) No person shall be convicted except by proof of testimony presented in a hearing at a fair trial.
Note: Investigation reports must be read aloud to defendants in an open court with the admissibility of each item thereof subject to confirmation by the defendant. Only items admitted by the defendant may be treated as evidence.
(9) No person shall be convicted by their own confession or when there is no evidence to support a testimony.
(10) No person shall be placed in double jeopardy for the same offence whereby a judgment has been finalized.
(11) Any person, in case they are acquitted or released from prosecution after they have been arrested or detained, may sue the State or their province for redress.

Article 18.
Every person shall have the right to press suit as based in law to protect their individual rights and benefits.
(2) Every person may sue for redress as provided by law from organizations that administering public functions, in case they have suffered damage through illegal act or grievous error committed by any agent involved in the execution of their public functions.¹⁶

Article 19.
Censorship is prohibited. The secrecy of any means of communication is guaranteed.

Chapter VI. Citizens

Note: Citizenship rights are the fourth category of human rights.
Article 20.
Referendums shall be the right and the duty of all people at least eighteen (18) years of age, except for those whose citizenship rights are in cessation.
(2) Referendums shall be carried out by universal voting. Universal voting shall be carried out by secret ballot directly, freely and equally.
(3) The election of public officials shall be the right and the duty of all people at least eighteen (18) years of age who are registered as citizens in administrative districts.
(4) The election of public officials shall be carried out by universal voting.
(5) The provision of information regarding referendums and the election of public officials shall not be restricted to any person or time period.
Note: This abolishes the Public Office Election Law and permits political movements, actions and reporting at all times.
(6) Bribery and entertainment thereof shall be prohibited in the election of public officials.
(7) A petition for the dismissal of an elected public official may be initiated with signatures from 5% or more of the electorate in a voting district.
(8) Within one month of receiving a valid petition for the dismissal of an elected public official, voting management councils must publicly announce the date of a referendum therefor.
(9) When a referendum on the dismissal of an elected public official yields a majority of votes in favor thereof, the official shall lose their status on the following day of the referendum date.
(10) When the heads of the executive offices are dismissed, elections to appoint their replacements shall be carried out.
(11) Voting management councils must publicly announce the date of a referendum on the appointment of a substitute for the head of an executive office within seven (7) days from the date of an announcement thereby, and set the date of a referendum therefor within one month.

Article 21.
Taxation shall be enacted fairly by law, to the minimum possible extent necessary for the benefit of the public.
(2) Every person shall be liable to taxation when they are eighteen (18) years of age, and have the right to receive reports on the uses of taxation thereby.
(3) Every person may sue for redress in case of the loss of public money through the misdemeanor or grievous error committed by any agent involved in the execution of their public functions.

Article 22.
Participation in religious activities, religious ceremonies and courtesies by the Emperor and public officials in executive offices shall be prohibited.
(2) Participation in religious activities, religious ceremonies and courtesies by all public officials as part of their functions shall be prohibited.
Note: The Prime Minister’s functions are around the clock, and there is no room to admit of their individual participation in religious courtesies in a public setting outside of their official functions.

Article 23.
The right of every person to peaceful petition shall be guaranteed.

Chapter VII. The Emperor

Note: The Emperor’s position must be stipulated prior the structure of governance. Before the Edo period, the political status of the Emperor varied without uniformity. In the Meiji period, the constitutional monarchy enacted by the Imperial Household Law and the Constitution of the Empire of Japan created a new “emperor system”. After Japan’s defeat in the Great East Asia War during the Shōwa period, a new “symbolic emperor system” was created via the democracy enacted by the Constitution of Japan.
Article 24.
The Emperor shall be the symbol of the unity of the people, deriving his position via appointment by the people who possess sovereign power.¹⁷
(2) The functions of the Emperor are acts in matters of state as provided in the Constitution, and their status shall be that of a special public official.
Note: Translating “tennō” as “The Emperor” often leads to misunderstandings about the office’s ruling powers. It should be rendered as “The Tenno”.
(3) The firstborn child of the Emperor shall be the Crown Prince.
(4) The Crown Prince shall ascend to the imperial throne on abdication by the Emperor.
(5) The honorific title for the Emperor shall be “Majesty”.
(6) The honorific title for the spouse, ascendants, and children of the Emperor shall be “Highness”.
Note: There are those who assert that it is Japanese tradition for males of the paternal lineage to continuously succeed a “line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal”. The idea of a “a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal” is a fantasy based in superstition.
(7) The advice and approval of the Prime Minister shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, and the Prime Minister shall be responsible therefor.¹⁸
(8) The Emperor may delegate the performance of his acts in matters of state as may be provided by law.¹⁹

Article 25.²⁰
The Emperor, with the advice and approval of the Prime Minister, shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people:
Note: As distinct from a monarchy, the Emperor will not appoint, but rather attest; attestation refers to the notarization of the precise process by which those entitled must wield their powers.
1. Attestation of constitutional enactment, laws and ordinances.
2. Attestation of the Prime Minister.
3. Attestation of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers.
4. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law.
5. Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers.
6. Receiving foreign government officials.
7. Awarding of honors.
8. Performance of ceremonial functions.

Article 26.² ¹
The Imperial Household shall consist of the Emperor, their spouses, and their lineal ascendants and descendants.
Note: On the Emperor’s accession to the throne, their siblings shall be withdrawn from the Imperial Household. A special pension system for people with specific ties to the Emperor should be established.
(2) All property of the Imperial Household shall belong to the State.
(3) All expenses of the Imperial Household shall be appropriated by the Diet in the budget.
(4) When the royal family inherits or transfers assets, it is based on the decision of the National Diet.

Chapter VIII. Separation of Powers

Note: Separation of powers is prescribed as the second element in the structure of governance.
Article 27.
The people of Japan entrust their sovereignty to assemblies and executive offices that are divided amongst the State, local governing bodies, and regional governing bodies.
Note: Unlike the Constitution of Japan, which sweepingly entrusts the people’s sovereignty to the Diet as the highest organ of State power, sovereignty is hereby delegated at six levels to the State, provinces, municipal assemblies and the heads of executive offices.²²

Article 28.
The State shall have exclusive oversight of enacting and amending the Constitution, as well as enacting, revising or abolishing laws, and over foreign relations, the conclusion of treaties, trials, defense, currency issuance, and the management of (2) The State may join international organs and delegate part of its sovereign acts where necessary to protect the liberty, equality and security of the people, or to maintain peace.
(3) The State shall defend the people when their survival or other rights are infringed.
(4) The State shall form a defense corps that wields the power of self-defense for the people.
Note: The Self-Defense Forces shall be renamed the “Defense Corps”. The scope of self-defense covers protecting the items stipulated in the sections on human rights, but it is expected that the various administrative organs [concerned] will divide responsibilities on issues that present difficulties [in this area].
(5) It may further participate in collective security systems for the mutual maintenance of peace.
Note: Inter-state conflicts cannot be resolved by a single country. As one example, we may consider the NATO army.

Article 29.
Provinces shall be established as local governing bodies.
Note: This replaces the former administrative divisions of metropole and prefectures.
(2) The provinces are as follows in Japanese alphabet order:
Sapporo Province shall consist of the total extent of the current Hokkaidō.
Sendai Province shall consist of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima and Niigata.
Tokyo Province shall consist of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Yamanashi, Tokyo and Kanagawa.
Nagoya Province shall consist of Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka and Aichi.
Osaka Province shall consist of Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara and Wakayama.
Hiroshima Province shall consist of Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime and Kōchi.
Fukuoka Province shall consist of Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Ōita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa.
(3) Provinces shall divide administrative responsibilities related to the enactment of ordinances and the integrated administration of large regions.
(4) Provinces shall have jurisdiction over forest conservation and flood control, local transport and the promotion of local industry.

Article 30.
Cities shall be established as local governing bodies.
Note: Tokyo shall be a special district, and cities designated by cabinet order, regular cities, towns and villages shall all be classified as cities.
(2) Cities shall have jurisdiction over matters related to enacting local ordinances, the registration of local citizens, as well as the use of civil rights by and the welfare of their local citizens.
(3) Cities shall support their local citizens in the use of their public rights.
(4) Cities shall be merged with their neighboring counterparts if their population is less than ten thousand (10,000).

Article 31.
The State, provinces and cities shall be fully independent in the management of their respective finances.

Chapter IX. Assemblies²³

Note: Assemblies are prescribed as the third element in the structure of governance.
Article 32.²⁴
Assemblies shall be established in the State, provinces and cities for representatives of the people to conduct investigations, deliberations, legislation, audits and resolutions for the people.
(2) The selection of members for the various assemblies shall be derived from a register of names of candidates who are at least eighteen (18) years of age, which shall be based on their ranking by vote of the various political parties, and separate registers of names of candidates thus ranked shall also be maintained at the levels of voting blocks in the State and the provinces, whereby the seats in the various assemblies shall be proportioned according to the distribution of votes earned by political parties in each voting block. The people shall cast their votes to choose their political parties.
Note: It is appropriate to take voting blocks at the unit of provinces in the State, and at the unit of prefectures within the provinces. [A candidate] may have their name entered repeatedly within the nomination lists for State, province and city. Before the actual vote occurs, each political party will engage in an internal vote to produce their register of names and to choose their candidates and policies. A proportional representation system is considered comparatively more accurate in reflecting the political will of the sovereign people. Marking-type and machine ballots are suitable for use in voting.
(3) When a member of an assembly loses their standing, their successor shall be appointed.
Note: In cases of death or expulsion from a political party, the successor shall be elected based on the order of names in the party’s register of names. This will prevent vacancies in membership. The register of names is valid for the duration of an assembly member’s term.
(4) Assembly seats for political parties shall be apportioned according to the total number of votes garnered by ordinary election, and proportionally distributed by the number of votes garnered by each voting block at the levels of the State and the provinces.
Note: Apportioning assembly seats according to the number of votes cast means that non-voters will have no representation. A single-choice voting system means that there is no difference whether or not individual votes are cast.²⁵
(5) Members of the assemblies shall receive appropriate compensation according to the substance of their work.
(6) Members of the assemblies may not hold other concordant positions as public officials.
(7) No person who is serving in an executive office or holding a position in an organization or a related group that has conducted business with administrative organs within the previous year may assume office as a member of an assembly.
(8) Members of the assemblies shall work for the benefit of all their constituents.
(9) Political parties shall be prohibited from accepting donations and gifts from corporations and groups for any reason whatsoever.
(10) From three years prior to the date of assuming office, members of the assemblies shall be prohibited from accepting donations and gifts from corporations and groups for any reason whatsoever. Furthermore, members of the assemblies shall be prohibited from giving donations and gifts to corporations, groups and individuals for any reason whatsoever.
Note: This prevents assembly members from receiving income related to budget allocations and business operations funneled back through tax payments from corporations and groups.

Article 33.
All the assemblies shall commence sitting from noon on January 5 and continue until closing on December 27. Their recess period shall be determined during July and August.
Note: It is anticipated that a year-long session will enable assembly members to focus on their functions while in session.
(2) The assignment of the chair and the vice-chair of an assembly shall take precedence on the first day of session over other measures.
(3) Assembly proceedings shall require the attendance of a majority of the total number of its members, and resolutions shall require the approval of a majority of the total number of its members.
(4) Assemblies may conduct investigations and audits on executive offices and administrative organs, and demand the presence and testimony of witnesses.
(5) Members of the assemblies may demand the submission of records from executive offices and administrative organs.
(6) Members of the assemblies may individually propose measures.
(7) All assembly meetings shall be made public.
(8) Assemblies shall hold public hearings before deliberating measures.
(9) Assemblies shall preserve minutes of their meetings and make them publicly available.
(10) Assemblies shall judge disputes over matters related to the qualifications of their constituent members.

Article 34.
If an assembly considers the head of an executive office unfit to carry out their functions, it may initiate a petition for their dismissal.
Note: Assemblies may only require referendums and have no powers of dismissal.

Article 35.
Members of the assemblies may not be apprehended without the approval of their assembly except in flagrante delicto.
(2) Members of the assemblies shall not held be responsible outside their assembly for statements, debates and votes made inside their assembly.

Article 36.
The Diet shall be established as the national assembly.

Article 37.
A bill becomes a law on passage by the Diet and on signature by the Prime Minister.
(2) A law takes effect after promulgation.

Article 38.
The number of members of the Diet shall be fixed at 160.
Note: The Diet shall be unicameral. In the current Constitution, the Diet is bicameral and composed of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors, but this may be considered as a doubling of two Houses with few differences between them. The current House of Representatives has a fixed number of 480 members, while the current House of Councilors has 242.
(2) The term of office of members of the assemblies shall be fixed at four years, starting from January 1 and ending on December 31. Elections for half of the fixed number of members of the Diet shall take place every two years.

Article 39.
An impeachment tribunal comprising seven members of the Diet shall be set up for the purpose of trying those judges against whom removal proceedings have been instituted.

Article 40.
Provincial assemblies shall be established as assemblies for the provinces.
(2) The number of members of the provincial assemblies shall be fixed at sixty (60).
Note: The upper limit of the fixed number of members of assemblies for the current metropole and prefectures under local autonomy law in Japan is 130.
(3) The term of office of members of the provincial assemblies shall be fixed at four years, starting from January 1 and ending on December 31. Elections for half of the fixed number of members of the provincial assemblies shall take place every two years.

Article 41.
A proposal for a provincial ordinance shall become a proper ordinance on passage by a provincial assembly and on signature by a provincial governor.
(3) A provincial ordinance takes effect after promulgation.

Article 42.
City assemblies shall be established as assemblies for the cities.
(2) The fixed number of members of the city assemblies shall start at eight, adding one member for every ten thousand residents of a city, and shall not exceed forty (40).
Note: The upper limit of the fixed number of members of city assemblies under local autonomy law in Japan is 96.
(3) The term of office of members of the city assemblies shall be fixed at four years, starting from January 1 and ending on December 31. Elections for half of the fixed number of members of the city assemblies shall take place every two years.

Article 43.
A proposal for a city ordinance shall become a proper ordinance on passage by a city assembly and on signature by a mayor.
(2) A city ordinance takes effect after promulgation.

Chapter X. Executive Offices

Note: Executive offices are prescribed as the fourth element in the structure of governance.
Article 44.
Executive offices shall be established as organs that execute on behalf of the people for residents at the various levels of the cities, the provinces, and the State.
(2) The Prime Minister shall be the head of the executive office of the State.
(3) Governors shall be the heads of the executive offices of the provinces.
(4) Mayors shall be the heads of the executive offices of the cities.

Article 45.
The heads of the executive offices shall be appointed by ordinary election.
(2) Candidates for the heads of the executive offices shall be at least eighteen (18) years of age and selected by internal voting from each political party. Nominations of seven members of the Diet for the office of the Prime Minister, three members of the provincial assemblies for the office of governor, and one member of the city assembly for the office of mayor shall be mandatory.
(3) If no candidate obtains a majority of the total number of votes in an ordinary election, a secondary election shall be held fourteen (14) days later for the two candidates with the first and second largest number of votes respectively.
Note: The condition here is the obtaining of an absolute majority of votes. If votes are split across several candidates, a relative majority may result in the election of a candidate who is only supported by a minority of voters.
(4) The term of office for heads of the executive offices shall be fixed at four years, starting from January 1 and ending on December 31.
(5) A candidate may not be appointed for more than two consecutive terms of office.
(6) The heads of the executive offices may not be apprehended or prosecuted during their term of office.
Note: Heads of executive offices must be enabled to act immediately during a state of emergency and must therefore be exempted from arrest and detention.
(7) No person who has served in the military, police or administrative civil service may serve as the head of an executive office until at least three years after resignation from their previous position in these organizations.
(8) From three (3) years prior to the date of assuming office, the heads of the executive offices shall be prohibited from accepting donations and gifts from corporations and groups for any reason whatsoever. Furthermore, the heads of the executive offices shall be prohibited from giving donations and gifts to corporations, groups and individuals for any reason whatsoever.

Article 46.
The heads of the executive offices shall appoint executive public officials to staff the executive offices.
(2) The heads of the executive offices shall form administrative organs to carry out executive functions.
(3) The heads of the executive offices shall execute budgets, constitutional laws, laws and ordinances authorized by the assemblies.
(4) The heads of the executive offices shall prescribe regulations on executing budgets, constitutional laws, laws and ordinances.
Note: Executive offices are defined as political organizations (the Cabinet, etc.) comprising executive public officials, while administrative organs are defined as administrative organizations comprising administrative public officials (the various ministries and agencies, etc.)
(5) The public officials of the executive offices and the administrative organs shall bear the obligation of devoting themselves to their functions.

Article 47.
The drafting of a budget shall be the prerogative of the head of an executive office, and the assemblies may revise a draft of a budget.
(2) When a budget draft fails to be passed, the head of an executive office shall be permitted to use one-twelfth of the budget for the preceding fiscal year for each month, and this expenditure must be reported to the assemblies every month.
Note: It is anticipated that budgets will be passed via referendum.²⁶
(3) In case of a state of emergency that directly endangers the life or the property of residents, the head of an executive office may take immediate administrative measures and report this to the assemblies for their approval within four weeks.

Article 48.
The executive office of the State shall be comprised of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister appointed by the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and other related public officials.
(2) The Prime Minister shall require authorization by the Diet for the appointment of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State.
(3) The Prime Minister may dismiss the Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and other executive public officials in their office at will.

Article 49.
The Prime Minister shall prescribe basic policy and execute it by directing and supervising the administrative organs under their jurisdiction.
(2) The Prime Minister may propose bills to the Diet as the representative of the executive office of the State.
(3) The Prime Minister shall report to the people and the Diet on general matters of state and foreign relations.
(4) The Prime Minister shall sign budgets and laws that have been authorized by the Diet within seven days of their authorization.
(5) The Prime Minister may demand the re-deliberation of budgets or laws not authorized by the Diet within seven days.
(6) The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State shall order the execution of duties based in the Constitution or in law via documentation.
Note: Documentation here refers to any form of record that may be preserved and reproduced, including paper, electronic mail, and digital records.
(7) The Prime Minister shall organize, direct and supervise the Defense Corps.
(8) The Prime Minister shall wield supreme command of the Defense Corps along with the ability to appoint and dismiss military commanders.
(9) The Defense Corps may not be mobilized without an order from the Prime Minister.
Note: Routine mobilizations shall be carried out under the stipulation of specific conditions and regulations.
(10) The Prime Minister may order the commutation of the sentences of individual convicts.

Article 50.
The Deputy Prime Minister shall temporarily assume the office of the Prime Minister if the Prime Minister is unable to execute their functions.
(2) The Secretary of State, as provided by law, shall temporarily assume the office of the Prime Minister if the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are unable to execute their functions.

Article 51.
The executive office of a province shall be comprised of a governor, a deputy governor appointed by the governor and other related public officials.
(2) A governor shall require authorization by their provincial assembly for the appointment of a new deputy governor.
(3) A governor may dismiss a deputy governor and other executive public officials in their office at will.

Article 52.
A governor shall prescribe basic policy and execute it by directing and supervising the administrative organs under their jurisdiction.
(2) A governor may propose bills to their provincial assembly as the representative of the executive office of the province.
(3) A governor shall report to their people and their provincial assembly on general matters of administration.
(4) The governor shall sign budgets and laws that have been authorized by their provincial assembly within seven days of their authorization.
(5) A governor may demand the re-deliberation of budgets or laws not authorized by their provincial assembly within seven days.
(6) A governor shall order the execution of duties based in the Constitution, in law or in ordinance via documentation.

Article 53.
A deputy governor shall temporarily assume the office of a governor if a governor is unable to execute their functions.
(7) An executive public servant from the provincial assembly, as provided by law, shall temporarily assume the office of a governor if the governor and the deputy governor are unable to execute their functions.

Article 54.
The executive office of a city shall be comprised of a mayor, a deputy mayor appointed by the mayor and other related public officials.
(2) A mayor shall require authorization by their city assembly for the appointment of a new deputy mayor.
(3) A mayor may dismiss the deputy mayor and other executive public officials in their office at will.

Article 55.
A mayor shall prescribe basic policy and execute it by directing and supervising the administrative organs under their jurisdiction.
(2) A mayor may propose bills to their city assembly as the representative of the executive office of the city.
(3) A mayor shall report to their people and their city assembly on general matters of administration.
(4) A mayor shall sign budgets and laws that have been authorized by their city assembly within seven days of their authorization.
(5) A mayor may demand the re-deliberation of budgets or laws not authorized by their city assembly within seven days.
(6) A mayor shall order the execution of duties based in the Constitution, in law or in ordinance via documentation.

Article 56.
A deputy mayor shall temporarily assume the office of a mayor if the mayor is unable to execute their functions.
(2) An executive public servant from the city assembly, as provided by law, shall temporarily assume the office of a mayor if the mayor and the deputy mayor are unable to execute their functions.

Chapter XI. Judiciary

Note: The judiciary is prescribed as the fifth element in the structure of governance.
Article 57.
Judicial power shall be vested in the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as are established by law.
Note: A Constitutional Court shall be newly established. When the Supreme Court needs to make decisions related to the Constitution, it is a lengthy process due to the Court’s needing to hear appeals from inferior courts. There is thus a need for quick judgments relating to constitutionality or lack thereof. I do not consider it necessary to have a military court.
(2) All trials shall be conducted by fair and open examination.

Article 58.
The Constitutional Court shall judge the constitutionality of treaties, laws, regulations, executive acts and trials.
(2) The Constitutional Court shall be composed of nine judges.
(3) The judges of the Constitutional Court shall be members of the people, with three members nominated by the Diet, three members nominated by the Prime Minister, and three members nominated by the chief judge of the Supreme Court, for appointment by the Prime Minister.
(4)The Prime Minister shall nominate the chief judge of the Constitutional Court.
(5) The term of office for judges of the Constitutional Court shall be fixed at six (6) Constitutional trials shall be held on an annual basis as joint sessions of all the judges of the courts to judge the constitutionality of the cases presided over by the various judges of the courts.
(7) Any treaty, regulation and executive act judged to be unconstitutional in a constitutional trial shall be nullified.
(8) In case a constitutional trial judges a past trial to be unconstitutional, the Constitutional Court shall overturn the decision of the Supreme Court and the other courts and order a retrial.

Article 59.
The Supreme Court is the court of last resort for ordinary trials.
(2) The Supreme Court shall be composed of fifteen (15) judges.
(3) The judges of the Supreme Court shall be members of the people, appointed by the Prime Minister, with one person from that number nominated as the chief judge.
(4) The term of office for judges of the Supreme Court shall be fixed at six years.
(5) The Supreme Court is vested with the rule-making power under which it determines the rules of procedure and of practice, and of matters relating to attorneys, the internal discipline of the courts and the administration of judicial affairs.²⁷

Article 60.
When judges from the inferior courts are judicially declared mentally or physically incompetent to perform their official duties, or judged to have clearly committed infractions in carrying out their official functions, the Supreme Court shall file suit for their dismissal in an impeachment court.²⁸
(2) The Supreme Court shall issue warnings or suspensions of office to judges of the inferior courts who have damaged the honor and trust of the judiciary through the imposition by trial of limitations on their authority as judges.

Article 61.
The judges of the inferior courts shall be members of the people, appointed by the Prime Minister, and nominated from a list of names drawn up by qualified judges from the Supreme Court.
(2) The term of office for judges of the inferior courts shall be fixed at six years.

Article 62.
All judges of the ordinary courts shall be independent in the exercise of their conscience and shall be bound only by this Constitution and the laws.²⁹
(2) Trials shall rationally judge the empirical facts of events and agents.
(3) Trials shall minimize the burden to the litigant parties and conclude in the shortest possible time.
(4) Criminal trials shall judge continuous acts as individual cases, for which the criminal penalties shall comprise imprisonment for life, imprisonment for term, penal servitude for term, detention for short term, restriction of movement, fines and petty fines. Confiscation and suspension of civil rights shall be added as supplementary penalties.
Note: In the current penal code of Japan, which does not have life imprisonment, the second severest penalty is penal servitude without term. Penal servitude without term is in substance a penalty that allows for provisional release after 16 to 20 years. The people of Japan presently support the death penalty out of the sense that a penalty which is, at maximum, 25 years long, is inadequate. The introduction of life imprisonment would remove the need for the death penalty.
The Covenant on the Abolition of the Death Penalty (the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims to abolish the death penalty) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 15, 1989, and there are an increasing number of countries ratifying this covenant to abolish the death penalty compared to those countries in which it remains. In particular, few countries amongst those considered “advanced” retain the death penalty.

Article 63.
The people and residents of Japan shall in principle receive trials in Japan.
Note: The courts of Japan shall have jurisdiction even in cases involving the Internet or which take place in crimes and conflict overseas. Where judicial jurisdiction overlaps, there shall be accommodations made via a treaty between Japan and the respective country involved.
(2) Cases that occur within Japan shall in principle be under the jurisdiction of courts in Japan.
Note: This shall also apply to foreign travelers involved in domestic cases.

Article 64.
All the judges of the various courts shall receive, at regular stated intervals, appropriate compensation during their terms of office.

Chapter XII. Finance

Note: The financial structure is prescribed as the sixth element in the structure of governance.
Article 65.
The assessment and collection of taxation shall be executed under the stipulation of conditions provided for by law or by ordinance.

Article 66.
The fiscal year shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31.
Note: For outdoor work conducted in snow zones, this enables the fiscal year to end before the period of heavy snow (i.e. by December 31).

Article 67.
Executive offices shall prepare and submit to the relevant assemblies for their consideration and decision a revenue budget for each fiscal year. Expenditure proposals may in part be proposed and submitted during the fiscal year.
(2) Budgets shall strive to balance natural revenue and expenditure.
(3) Continuing expenditure for measures over multiple years may not be released without a re-assessment each fiscal year.

Article 68.
Executive offices and administrative organs shall require authorization by the relevant assemblies for undertaking expenditure, debt and debt guarantees.

Article 69.
For unforeseen deficiencies in a budget, a reserve fund may be established.
(2) All payments from a reserve fund must be authorized by the relevant assembly within thirty (30) days.

Article 70.
Executive offices and administrative organs shall maintain accounts of income, expenditure, property, profit and loss in multiple forms of records.
(2) Executive offices must report to the relevant assemblies and residents in their jurisdiction at regular intervals, at least once annually, on the itemized contents of local finance, property, debt and debt guarantees.

Article 71.
No public money or other property shall be expended or appropriated for the use, benefit or maintenance of any religious institution or association.
(2) No public money shall be expended for the use of charitable, educational or benevolent enterprises not subject to audit by an auditing organ or other organizational oversight unless by a bilateral contract provided by private law.
Note: Supplementary funds provided to private schools have become a problem. Schools not subject to audit by an auditing organ should not receive funding, and money should be dispensed to students and schoolchildren via scholarships.

Article 72.
Auditing organs shall be attached to the assemblies.
(2) Auditing organs shall annually audit the bases for all income and expenditure for the executive offices and the administrative organs, the legitimacy of their accounts therefor, and the effect of their expenditure, for submission by report to the assemblies and the executive offices in the proceeding fiscal year.
(3) Auditing organs shall annually audit the bases for all income and expenditure for groups and corporate bodies financed by the executive offices and the administrative organs, the legitimacy of their accounts therefor, and the effect of their expenditure, for submission by report to the assemblies and the executive offices within the fiscal year.

Article 73.
The State shall issue subsidies to the provinces and the cities to preserve fiscal equilibrium.
(2) The following standard shall guide the distribution of subsidies: sixty percent according to population as a proportion of the national population, and forty percent according to the total area.
Note: The current subsidies issued to local governments are calculated according to what central government officials think is needed. There is no room for localities to use this money creatively. How much and how to use theses subsidies should be left up to each locality.

Article 74.
Supplementary payments made amongst the State, the provinces and the cities are prohibited.
Note: Local and regional measures are controlled by the State’s use of supplementary payments. This should be prohibited to reduce unnecessary annual expenditures.
(2) Joint expenditure is prohibited during the same fiscal year on the same measure by the State and a province or a city, or by a province and a city.

Chapter XIII. Supplementary Provisions

Note: Supplementary provisions prescribe the procedures originally stipulated during the enactment of the Constitution.
Article 75.
After the promulgation of the enactment of the Constitution, the first referendums for electing public officials shall adhere to the following schedule:
(2) Referendums for the heads of executive offices shall be carried out on the second Sunday of November.
(3) Referendums for the members of the assemblies shall be carried out on the fourth Sunday of November.
(4) Re-elections that take place thereafter shall adhere to the same schedule.
(5) The term of office for these officials shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31.
(6) Members of the assemblies elected during the first referendums shall be allotted terms of office according to their rank based on the number of votes obtained, whereby higher-ranking members shall receive longer terms of office.

This draft assumes the repeal of the current Constitution of Japan and the enactment of a new Constitution by national referendum. There is but one condition for enacting a new Constitution: it is viable only through a majority vote in favor of amendment via national referendum.

This draft takes Japan in the 21^st century as a country whose basic structure is that of a democratic republic. Democracy discloses all information to the people, persuades them of the merits of policies, and is ultimately the choice made by a majority in a national referendum.

Article 41 of the current Constitution of Japan stipulates that “The Diet shall be the highest organ of state power, and shall be the sole law-making organ of the State.” I thus take this to mean that laws enacted by the Diet cannot in principle be unconstitutional.

There are those who contest the interpretation of Article 9. Were there to be legislation on the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and their overseas dispatch, this would require consideration on how this could be consistent with Article 9. As a matter of course, the interpretation of Article 9 after the passage of a law on the SDF must differ from its substance during a time when the SDF did not exist, as seen from the arguments made by Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru in the Diet [of that period].* This is because legislation enacted by “the highest organ of state power” must be compatible with the [current] Constitution.

[In this situation], it is only natural that a national referendum is inadmissible. Refuting a resolution decided by “the highest organ of state power” is a contradiction of what the [current] Constitution stipulates. The Cabinet and the Supreme Court both fall under this “highest organ of state power”. The people as sovereign cannot exercise authority after electing their members of the Diet. They can only follow the will of “the highest organ of state power”.

Article 41 should be repealed, and a Constitution should be enacted in which national referendums by the sovereign people occupies the highest position of law-making power. This is the condition of becoming a country which is internationally held in esteem and honor; this will not happen through tradition and particular attributes, but by incorporating the beneficial progress of intellect with regards to international society.

* For a useful compilation of Yoshida Shigeru’s statements on Article 9 between 1946 – 1950 (Shōwa 21 – 25) see this essay on the official website of Kōno Tarō, Liberal Democratic Politician and member of the House of Representatives serving as the Minister of Defense in the Abe Shinzō administration since 11 September 2019.