The title of the book piqued my interest as I was meandering my way between the stacks of Bass. There was nothing too extraordinary about the book's features, such as layout and typography, but the dark 'matcha'-green binding and its crumbling structure suggested its age. Indeed, it was published in June 1969, just 22 years after the adoption of the new Japanese constitution and 24 years after the end of the Second World War. Further, while not a physical attribute of the book, the fact that this work was a product of collaboration between numerous American and Japanese scholars published just 20 short years after the bloodiest war in history was fascinating to me. Having grown up in the States, I also realized that I didn't know too much about the Japanese Constitution, which is why I decided to make scans of the English copy in the appendix and add it to my webpage. Upon reading it, I was able to confirm that the Japanese Constitution was modeled upon the American One. Predictably, it begins with the familiar phrase: "We the Japanese people...", and the three branches of government are defined in order of the Diet, Cabinet, and Judiciary, mirroring the American order, i.e. Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
Metadata...
Title...The Constitution of Japan: Its First Twenty Years, 1947-67
Editor...Dan Fenno Henderson
Publisher...University of Washington Press
Part I...Direction and Theory in Current Developments
Part II...Scope of Justiciability in Constitutional Law
Part III...Fundamental Rights
Part IV...Introduction to the Reports of the Commission on the Constitution
Appendix...The Constitution of Japan
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