Meiji Constitution And Western Constitutional Develpoment docx.

Running Head: MEIJI CONSTITUTION AND WESTERN CONSTITUTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Meiji Constitution and Western Constitutional Development
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MEIJI CONSTITUTION AND WESTERN CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT1
Introduction
The Meiji Constitution, under the fifteen years of an old-new emperor, Mutsuhito
established their capital in Edo and renamed it as Tokyo. The new regime put in place the goal,
which will abide by Western Sciences and Eastern Ethics and bring the civilization into
enlightenment. This was done by incorporating the new concept of liberty to own property,
religion without causing any violence as well as the liberty of speech, publication as well as
public meeting inside the limits of law without diminishing the importance of the imperial power
of the emperor. Yet, the emperor’s power to revoke all the rights during the times of war was
kept intact, as was the traditional norm of the East.
Discussion
The Meiji Constitution proposed a ground which would be the middle ground in attaining
the westernization of the eastern ethics which was laid out in the Imperial oath sworn by the
emperor which specified that the new laws will incorporate liberal policies which will let the
people move ahead through the cooperation of the government and the emperor’s lineage
benefits from the co-existing range. The Imperial House Law and the Constitution provided
many new alternatives, which were a deviation from the traditional eastern norms1.
The addition of the different articles reflects the liberal form of government derived from
western culture can be observed. Article 23 of the constitution gave the Japanese citizens the
right to freedom and restrained any group or official from detaining, arresting, or punishing them
without being determined by the judges2. According to the normative way, any citizen deemed
guilty was tried and punished according to the discretion of the Imperial judgment. This division
1 Meiji Constitution of the Empire of Japan
2 The Meiji Constitution