7. THE JAPANESE CONSTITUTION. Among the Jurists of Europe and America, it had heretofore been considered that constitu tional government is only compatible with the social and political status of the Western na tions, and furthermore that Oriental nations could never adopt this form of government, because they have no common ground upon which constitutional government could be planted: therefore when, in the year 1::1, the Emperor of Japan announced, by the Imperial Edict, that constitutional government should he established at the end of 10 years, the peoples of Europe and America thought that he had adopted a mistaken policy.
But the year 1890 came, and the first Parlia ment was convened in accordance with the Constitution which was promulgated the year before, and has continued ever since. Thus constitutional government in Japan, in spite of many boisterous meetings and much sensational discussions, which are by no means uncommon in Europe and America, must be considered a success.
In ordir to explain why Japan, one of the Oriental nations, has succeeded in adopting the system of constitutional government, it is neces sary to review some of the important facts connected with constitutional movements in Japan during the last 40 years.
On his ascension to the throne after the Imperial Restoration in 1868, His 7mperial Maj esty proclaimed the five articles of the imperial oath, one of which marked out distinctly the future course of His Imperial Government, in the following words: We shall henceforth seek knowledge and wisdom in an outside world and establish the National Assembly where the important affairs of State shall be decided by public opinion.) This is the fundamental principle of Japa nese national policy, by which all the subsequent changes and reorganization, both political and social, were carried out and consummated. In 1875, the judiciary system was organized by establishing the Court of Cassation, to main tain the unity for the execution of the law, although there were already the District Court, the Provincial Court and the Court of Appeals, but there was no Supreme Court where all thejudicial matters in the empire could be decided and unified. In the same year the Sen ate was established by the Imperial Decree, which clearly stated that in future all import ant legislative bills be brought by the Cabinet and discussed before the Senate. The changes
placed the Japanese government on the same organization as Europe and America — under the three branches of the Executive, Legisla tive and Judicial. This might be called the first step in the central government to pave the way for constitutionalism in the future.
Now, let us turn to the reorganization of provincial affairs. In 1879, the law was passed in the Senate establishing a Provincial Assem bly in all the provinces of the empire. To this Assembly all the taxpayers send their rep resentatives by election, and the governors of the provinces bring the annual estimates, which are discussed and voted upon by its members. Here we find again a system of self-government in local affairs, like that in Europe and America.
As soon as the people acquired the right to discuss and vote upon the provincial ex penditures, they naturally desired to have the Parliament opened, where they might discuss and vote upon the national expenditures, in the same way as in the Provincial Assembly. This was urgently demanded by the political lead ers outside of the government, as the only means to interest the people in the welfare of the country, and they still further insisted that this was the principle of the imperial oath of 1868. The public speeches and newspaper dis cussions on the question intensified the demands of the people, which had grown so strong as to compel the government to adopt a policy to open the Parliament much sooner than had been intended, and the famous Imperial Proc lamation of 1881 was issued, by which the em peror declared a first Parliament to be opened in 1890. Thereupon the emperor appointed Marquis Ito to go abroad on a mission to study the constitutions of Europe and entrusted him with the important work of drawing up the draft of a constitution. In 1884, after four years of close investigation of the European constitutions, he returned to Japan, and soon the committee was appointed to prepare the draft under the guidance of Marquis Ito. This committee consisted of the late Viscount Inouye, Marquis Ito and the present writer.