Chapter I relates to the imperial sovereignty. The present emperor of Japan is the direct descendant of the first Emperot Gimmu, who, after having conquered all the tribes, became the sole ruler of the nation in the year 660 a.c. During a period of more than 25 centuries, one unbroken line of emperors has succeeded to the imperial power, a unique exception in the his tory of monarchies. This fact was strongly emphasized in Article I by stating that athe Em pire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of emperors unbroken for ages eter nal?' Under this chapter the royal prerogatives are summarized as concisely as possible in a few articles, yet conceding all the ancient rights and powers of the emperor which had been so long in the hands of the Japanese sovereign. In regard to the royal prerogative, European countries have enumerated in their constitutions all the rights and powers of the sovereign so fully that they have greatly handicapped the royal will; but the emperor of Japan, so long as he does not interfere with the Constitution, can exercise his ancient right to the full. Ac cording to the Constitution, the three powers of state, the Legislative, Executive and Judi cial, are invested in the person of the emperor, who is the life and centre of the whole political mechanism. Japan, by the method she pursues in connection with her sovereign, gets rid of the idea once prevalent in the 18th century, that legislative, executive and judicial powers should be independent of one another.
Chapter II deals with the rights and duties of the Japanese subjects in conformity with European system. When feudalism held sway in Japan, the people were divided into four dis tinct classes: the military, the farming, the arti san and the merchant. Civil and political rights were enjoyed only by the military, but at the imperial restoration, in 1868, class distinction in politics was abolished; and by the new Consti tution civil preference has likewise been put aside. Each Japanese subject, therefore, in his political and civil rights, is now on an equal footing with his neighbor. Moreover, he has acquired the freedom of speech and writing to gether with that of publication, and the privi lege of holding and attending public meetings and forming associations; liberty to choose a place of residence; and, finally, he is granted the freedom of religious belief and worship. Nor can a Japanese be arrested, detained, tried or punished except according to law; nor can a dwelling be entered or searched without a mag istrate's warrant. The right of property and the privacy of correspondence are considered inviolable except by a provision of law. Each subject has an equal eligibility for civil or mili tary appointments, and for any other public office; and no preference is given to family or order. The right of petition, which in an early
period of their constitutionalism was so much sought after by the Anglo-Saxons, and won at last after fierce opposition, was granted to Jap anese subjects as a free gift of the emperor.
In Chapter III the organization of Parlia ment is divided into, first, the House of Peers, and, second, the House of Representatives. The organization of the two Houses is not men tioned in the Constitution, but is lett to ordi nary laws, in order to meet the requirements of time, and to be modified accordingly. Qualifi cation and the electorate, too, must vary with social and political progress; but the Constitu tion itself cannot be changed like ordinary laws.
The parliamentary organization greatly re sembles that of England, but its power is more limited. If we compare the Japanese Parlia ment with that of England and with the Con gress of the United States, we see a greater resemblance to the American. Congress than to the English Parliament; for the latter has al most the sole right of sovereignty and can well nigh act as it pleases, and even change the Con stitution itself ; while the former must obey the provisions of the Constitution, and can do nothing outside of the power already sanctioned thereby. There is, however, a striking differ ence between the Japanese and the American constitutions, for in the United States the Con stitution proceeds from the people; in Japan from the emperor. Therefore the Japanese Parliament may be styled a non-sovereign, leg istro-financial assembly, for it is convened by the emperor to deliberate upon questions of law and the national budget. If we the constitutions of three countries, namely, England, the United States and Japan, we have a marked dissimilarity: in England the sov ereign power rests with Parliament; in the United States with the people; and in Japan with the emperor. Here we have an excellent specimen of three constitutional forms of gov ernment. The first we may call a constitu tional parliamentary government, the second a constitutional democracy and the third a con stitutional monarchy.
The Japanese Parliament has many powers, which are enumerated in the Constitution, but if we take the more important ones, they are four in number. The first is to deliberate upon and discuss points of law brought either by the government or by its own members; the second, to examine and vote upon the national budget; the third, to receive petitions from the people, and to question the government upon any matter relating thereto; and the fourth, to present an address to the emperor upon grave questions of national affairs, or to report to him upon the condition of ministerial confi dence.