Naruhito
63-433: [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The Chūō Club ( Japanese : 中央倶楽部 , lit. Central Club ) was a political party in Japan . The party
126-642: A Roman Catholic family. Although Shōda was never baptized, she was educated in Catholic schools and seemed to share the faith of her parents. Rumors also speculated that Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Fumihito's paternal grandmother Empress Kōjun in 2000, Reuters reported that she was one of the strongest opponents of her son's marriage, and that in the 1960s, she had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son. On 29 June 1990, Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima ,
189-541: A parliamentary system and three branches of government, with the National Diet (legislative), Cabinet led by a Prime Minister (executive), and Supreme Court (judicial) as the highest bodies of power. It guarantees individual rights, including legal equality ; freedom of assembly , association , and speech ; due process ; and fair trial . In contrast to the Meiji Constitution, which invested
252-665: A PhD in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies . In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima , with whom he has three children: Mako , Kako , and Hisahito . In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince ( Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi ) in Tokyo . Preceding his investiture as Crown Prince, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding
315-490: A cabinet meeting on the following day. After Shidehara Cabinet decision, Jōji Matsumoto aimed to draft a Japanese government bill based on the MacArthur Draft, and the draft was completed on 2 March of the same year. On 4 March Jōji Matsumoto presented the draft to Whitney, but GHQ noticed that there were differences between the MacArthur Draft and the 2 March Draft. In particular, the 2 March Draft did not include
378-408: A draft created under his own supervision, which was reviewed and modified by the scholars before its adoption. Also known as the "MacArthur Constitution", "Post-war Constitution" ( 戦後憲法 , Sengo-Kenpō ) , or "Peace Constitution" ( 平和憲法 , Heiwa-Kenpō ) , it is relatively short at 5,000 words, less than a quarter the length of the average national constitution. The constitution provides for
441-533: A favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture , which was implemented in 1889 and reinforced on the constitution of Japan by the Allies after World War II . However, once Fumihito and Kiko had their son Hisahito in September 2006 he became next in the line of succession following his father. Fumihito's niece and Emperor Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko , remains at present legally ineligible to inherit
504-614: A preamble, and a heated argument ensued. Finally, adjustments were made by the Japanese government and GHQ, and the draft was completed on 6 March. On 6 March 1946, the government publicly disclosed an outline of the pending Constitution. On 10 April, elections were held for the House of Representatives of the Ninetieth Imperial Diet, which would consider the proposed Constitution. The election law having been changed, this
567-415: A touching-up of the Meiji Constitution". MacArthur rejected them outright and ordered his staff to draft a completely new document. An additional reason for this was that on 24 January 1946, Prime Minister Shidehara had suggested to MacArthur that the new Constitution should contain an article renouncing war. As the momentum for constitutional amendment increased, interest in the constitution increased among
630-539: Is a violation of the Constitution. Article 9. 1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. 2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of
693-473: Is also known as a "catfish specialist," has managed to maintain and expand the aquacultural studies with the people of Thailand. The prince has worked as a researcher at The University Museum of The University of Tokyo where he also is an Honorary Fellow. Prior to Fumihito's birth, the announcement about the then-Crown Prince Akihito's engagement and marriage to the then-Ms. Michiko Shōda had drawn opposition from traditionalist groups, because Shōda came from
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#1732776764533756-579: Is the heir presumptive to the Japanese throne . He is the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito , and the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko . Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino ( 秋篠宮 , Akishino-no-miya ) and has headed his own branch of the imperial family. Fumihito has a bachelor's degree in political science from Gakushuin University and
819-546: Is the supreme law of Japan . Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II , it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meiji Constitution of 1889. The constitution consists of a preamble and 103 articles grouped into 11 chapters. It is based on the principles of popular sovereignty , with the Emperor of Japan as
882-576: The Empire of Japan , propagated during the reign of Emperor Meiji ( r. 1867–1912 ). It provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy , based on the Prussian and British models. In theory, the Emperor of Japan was the supreme leader, and the cabinet, whose prime minister was elected by a privy council , were his followers; in practice, the Emperor was head of state but
945-873: The Graduate University for Advanced Studies in October 1996. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Molecular Phylogeny of Jungle Fowls, genus Gallus and Monophyletic Origin of Domestic Fowls ". He conducted field research in Indonesia in 1993 and 1994, and in Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China. When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introduced tilapia to Thailand as an important source of protein. Tilapia can be easily cultured and Prince Fumihito, who
1008-611: The National Archives , Fumihito's requests to follow in his elder brother's footsteps and study in Britain were initially turned down by the Imperial Household Agency. Upon the death of his grandfather, Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), on 7 January 1989, the prince became second-in-line to the throne after his elder brother, Crown Prince Naruhito . The prince received a PhD degree in ornithology from
1071-593: The United Kingdom (Prime Minister Winston Churchill ), and the Republic of China (President Chiang Kai-shek ) issued the Potsdam Declaration . The Declaration demanded Japanese military's unconditional surrender , demilitarisation and democratisation . The declaration defined the major goals of the post-surrender Allied occupation : "The Japanese Government shall remove all obstacles to
1134-549: The 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands to attend the funeral of Prince Claus of the Netherlands . In September 2003, they made goodwill visits to Fiji , Tonga and Samoa , again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries. In March 2004, the prince and princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral of Queen Juliana of
1197-568: The Emperor when he was hospitalized. He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after the Great East Japan earthquake in March 2011. From June to July 2014, Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko visited Republic of Zambia and United Republic of Tanzania. In accordance with legislation passed allowing his father's abdication , he became heir presumptive to the throne on 30 April 2019. Once plans were announced for
1260-522: The GHQ dignitaries. It is analyzed that it was reflected in the GHQ proposal. The Constitution was mostly drafted by American authors. A few Japanese scholars reviewed and modified it. Much of the drafting was done by two senior army officers with law degrees: Milo Rowell and Courtney Whitney , although others chosen by MacArthur had a large say in the document. The articles about equality between men and women were written by Beate Sirota . MacArthur gave
1323-454: The GHQ headquarters on 4 October 1945. Although the GHQ later denied this fact, citing a mistake by the Japanese interpreter, diplomatic documents between Japan and the U.S. state that "the Constitution must be amended to fully incorporate liberal elements". "At the meeting, the General told Konoe that the Constitution must be amended". In this regard, it can be said that the GHQ granted Konoe
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#17327767645331386-591: The Gakushūin. In April 1984, the prince entered the Law Department of Gakushuin University , where he studied law and biological science. After graduating from the university with a bachelor's degree in Political Science , he studied the taxonomy of fish at St John's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom from October 1988 to June 1990. According to British government documents released by
1449-717: The Imperial Household Economy Council to form a new branch of the Imperial Family. The marriage was bitterly resented by officials at the Imperial Household Agency , who had desired that the Prince adhere to tradition and not get married before his elder brother. Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son: Fumihito serves as the president of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology and
1512-695: The Japanese Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums. He is also the honorary president of the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan , the Japan Tennis Association , and the Japan-Netherlands Association. The prince and princess have made numerous official visits to foreign countries. In June 2002, they became the first members of the Imperial Family to visit Mongolia , in celebration of
1575-426: The Japanese to allow a bicameral one, with both houses being elected. In most other important respects, the government adopted the ideas embodied in 13 February document in its own draft proposal of 6 March. These included the constitution's most distinctive features: the symbolic role of the Emperor, the prominence of guarantees of civil and human rights, and the renunciation of war. The constitution followed closely
1638-473: The Meiji Constitution, their drafts included the principle of popular sovereignty, which grants sovereignty to the people and regards the Emperor as a symbol of the people. The Constitutional Study Group submitted a draft to the Prime Minister's Office on 26 December 1945. On 2 January 1946, GHQ issued a statement that it would focus on the content. Toyoharu Konishi states that the GHQ may have included
1701-407: The Netherlands . In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte . From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese emigration to that country. In January 2008, they visited Indonesia for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and
1764-650: The Office of the Minister of the Interior was about to be abolished, he decided to submit a proposal for amendment before then. Konoe's proposal reflected the wishes of the GHQ and was very liberal in content, including "limitation of the imperial prerogative," "independent dissolution of the Diet," and "freedom of speech," but it was never finally approved as a draft, and Konoe committed suicide by poisoning himself. After this,
1827-700: The Prime Minister was the actual head of government. Under the Meiji Constitution, the prime minister and his cabinet were not accountable to the elected members of the Imperial Diet , and increasingly deferred to the Imperial Japanese Army in the lead-up to the Second Sino-Japanese War . On 26 July 1945, shortly before the end of World War II , Allied leaders of the United States (President Harry S. Truman ),
1890-714: The Republic of Indonesia. The prince and princess visited Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in May 2009 on the occasion of "Japan-Danube Friendship Year 2009" and the Netherlands in August 2009 for the commemorative event of the 400th anniversary of the trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands. They have also visited Costa Rica, Uganda, Croatia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Peru, and Argentina. In addition, Fumihito carried out public duties on behalf of
1953-584: The Soviet Union, China, Australia and other allies to occupy and control Japan, and its authority was higher than that of GHQ. MacArthur learned that the Far Eastern Commission was interested in constitutional amendment, and thought that constitutional authority could be transferred to the Far Eastern Commission after the commission was established. Therefore, he might be eager to end the constitutional issue with unlimited authority before it
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2016-608: The accession of Emperor Naruhito. They visited Poland and Finland to participate in the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationship between Japan and the two countries. In August 2019, the couple and their son, Hisahito, arrived in Bhutan for a visit. The public proclamation of Fumihito as crown prince did not take place on 19 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . His accession as crown prince took place privately. On 8 November 2020, Fumihito
2079-489: The aim of the preceding paragraph," was added to paragraph 2 by Hitoshi Ashida without the diet deliberations. Although the reason is not clear, this addition has led to the interpretation of the Constitution as allowing the retention of force when factors other than the purpose of the preceding paragraph arise. Even now, there is a great debate over whether force for self-defense, such as the Self Defense Forces,
2142-410: The authority to amend the Constitution was completely transferred to Shidehara's cabinet. In late 1945, Shidehara appointed Jōji Matsumoto , state minister without portfolio, head of a blue-ribbon committee of Constitutional scholars to suggest revisions. The Matsumoto Committee was composed of the authorities of the Japanese law academia, including Tatsuki Minobe (美濃部達吉), and the first general meeting
2205-791: The authority to amend the Constitution. However, at this point, the Higashikuninomiya Cabinet was succeeded by the Shidehara Cabinet, and Jōji Matsumoto, the then Minister of State, stated that the Cabinet should be the only one to amend the Constitution, and the Constitutional Problems Investigation Committee was established. In other words, there was a conflict between the Konoe and Shidehara cabinets as to who should take
2268-584: The authors less than a week to complete the draft, which was presented to surprised Japanese officials on 13 February 1946. MacArthur initially had a policy of not interfering with the revision of the Constitution, but from around January 1946, he made a statement to the Constitutional Draft Outline of the Constitutional Study Group and activated movements related to the Constitution. There are various theories as to
2331-778: The conditions of the Potsdam Declaration, which necessitates amendments to its Constitution after the surrender. The wording of the Potsdam Declaration—"The Japanese Government shall remove all obstacles ..."—and the initial post-surrender measures taken by MacArthur , suggest that neither he nor his superiors in Washington intended to impose a new political system on Japan unilaterally. Instead, they wished to encourage Japan's new leaders to initiate democratic reforms on their own. But by early 1946, MacArthur's staff and Japanese officials were at odds over
2394-456: The daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (professor of economics at Gakushuin University ) and his wife, Kazuyo. The couple met when they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin University. Like his father, the emperor emeritus, the prince married outside the former aristocracy and former collateral branches of the imperial family. Upon marriage, he received the title Prince Akishino (Akishino-no-miya – strictly "Prince Akishino") and authorization from
2457-467: The emperor with supreme political power, under the 1946 constitution his role in the system of constitutional monarchy is reduced to "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people", and he exercises only a ceremonial role under popular sovereignty. Article 9 of the constitution renounces Japan's right to wage war and to maintain military forces. Despite this, it retains a de facto military in
2520-611: The faction of the army headed by Yamagata Aritomo and Katsura Tarō . In the 1912 elections it was reduced to 31 seats, and ceased to exist in February the following year when it merged with the reformist faction of Rikken Kokumintō to form Rikken Dōshikai . Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan The Emperor The Empress The Emperor Emeritus The Empress Emerita Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino ( 秋篠宮皇嗣文仁親王 , Akishino-no-miya Kōshi Fumihito Shinnō , born 30 November 1965, Japanese: [ɸɯmiꜜçi̥to] )
2583-552: The form of the Self-Defense Forces and hosts a substantial U.S. military presence . Amendments to the constitution require a two-thirds vote in both houses of the National Diet and approval in a referendum , and despite the efforts of conservative and nationalist forces to revise Article 9 in particular, it remains the world's oldest un-amended constitution. The Meiji Constitution was the fundamental law of
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2646-574: The freely expressed will of the Japanese people a peacefully inclined and responsible government" (Section 12). The Allies sought not merely punishment or reparations from a militaristic foe, but fundamental changes in the nature of its political system. In the words of a political scientist Robert E. Ward : "The occupation was perhaps the single most exhaustively planned operation of massive and externally directed political change in world history." The Japanese government, Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki 's administration and Emperor Hirohito accepted
2709-479: The impending abdication and his brother's enthronement , Fumihito suggested that instead of using public money the imperial family should pay for the religious rituals in the enthronement as the constitution separates religion and state, despite the government agreeing to foot the bill. In June–July 2019, the Crown Prince and his wife carried out the first official overseas visit by the imperial family following
2772-403: The initiative in constitutional amendment. However, this conflict ended with Konoe being nominated as a candidate for Class A war criminal due to domestic and international criticism. To begin with, Konoe was able to have the initiative to amend the Constitution because he had been assigned full-time by the GHQ to amend the constitution, although he was not an unappointed minister when the cabinet
2835-444: The most fundamental issue, the writing of a new Constitution. Emperor Hirohito , Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara , and most of the cabinet members were extremely reluctant to take the drastic step of replacing the 1889 Meiji Constitution with a more liberal document. Former prime minister Fumimaro Konoe , Shidehara Cabinet and the civil constitutional study groups formed original constitutions. The formal draft constitution, which
2898-489: The opinion of the Constitutional Study Group in the draft, reflecting the situation in the United States, where people disregarded popular sovereignty at that time. Also, regarding the symbolic emperor system, since the members of the Constitutional Study Group came into contact with the GHQ dignitaries earlier than the drafting of the guidelines, the Constitutional Study Group proposed the symbolic emperor system through
2961-506: The people. In fact, not only political parties but also private organizations have announced draft constitutional amendments. The most famous of these is the outline of the draft constitution by the Constitution Study Group. The Constitutional Study Group was established on 29 October 1945 to study and prepare for the establishment of the Constitution from a leftist approach. While many political party drafts only added to
3024-632: The reason. Kenzo Yanagi mentioned the memorandum of Courtney Whitney, who was the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of the General Headquarters, on 1 February 1946 as a reason for the attitude change. In the memorandum, it is mentioned that the Far Eastern Commission was about to be established. The Far Eastern Commission is the supreme policy-making body established by the United States, Great Britain,
3087-405: The revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies among the Japanese people. Freedom of speech , of religion , and of thought , as well as respect for the fundamental human rights shall be established" (Section 10). In addition, "The occupying forces of the Allies shall be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished and there has been established in accordance with
3150-455: The state will not be recognized. Unlike most previous Japanese legal documents, the constitution is written in modern colloquial Japanese instead of Classical Japanese . The Japanese version includes some awkward phrasing and scholars sometimes consult the English drafts to resolve ambiguities. The MacArthur draft, which proposed a unicameral legislature, was changed at the insistence of
3213-614: The subordination of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers". Koseki interprets this statement as the GHQ's indirect rule through the Emperor and the Japanese government, rather than direct rule over the Japanese people. In other words, GHQ regarded the Emperor Hirohito not as a war criminal parallel to Hitler and Mussolini but as one governance mechanism. The Japanese government at the end of World War II
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#17327767645333276-521: The symbol of the state; pacifism and the renunciation of war; and individual rights . Upon the surrender of Japan at the end of the war in 1945, Japan was occupied and U.S. General Douglas MacArthur , the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers , directed prime minister Kijūrō Shidehara to draft a new constitution. Shidehara created a committee of Japanese scholars for the task, but MacArthur reversed course in February 1946 and presented
3339-401: The throne, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues. As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attending summits , and organizational and global event meetings. The couple has particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving heads of state and VIPs abroad. The prince
3402-620: The title Kōtaishi as heir to the throne, apparently due to personal reluctance as not being raised as crown prince unlike his older brother, and chose the title Kōshi (皇嗣 lit. "Imperial Heir") instead. Constitution of Japan Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The Constitution of Japan
3465-548: Was born on 30 November 1965 at 12:22 am in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital, Tokyo Imperial Palace . His given name is Fumihito. His mother, Empress Emerita Michiko , is a convert to Shinto from Roman Catholicism . His childhood appellation was Prince Aya (礼宮 Aya-no-miya). He attended the primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin . He played tennis in primary and secondary schools of
3528-485: Was changed. However, due to domestic and foreign criticism of Konoe, the GHQ announced on 1 November that Konoe had not been appointed to amend the Constitution and that he had no authority to lead the amendment of the constitution since the cabinet had changed. At that time, Konoe belonged to the Office of the Minister of the Interior, which was in charge of politics related to the Imperial Household, but since
3591-493: Was created by the Shidehara Cabinet, was rejected by GHQ and the government reviewed the revised drafts by various political parties and accepted liberal ways of thinking especially toward the emperor as the symbol of nationals and dispossession of a military power. After World War II, the Allied Powers concluded an "Instrument of Surrender" with Japan, which stated that "the Emperor and the Government of Japan shall come under
3654-648: Was established in March 1910 by a group of around 50 MPs who had previously been members of the Boshin Club and the Daidō Club or who had sat as independents, following negotiations between the Boshin Club's Hida Kageyuki and Nakamura Yaroku and the Daidō Club's Adachi Kenzō , together with the intervention of Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Ōura Kanetake . It retained the former parties' association with
3717-447: Was formally declared first in line to the chrysanthemum throne. During the ceremony he said "I will carry out my duties by deeply acknowledging my responsibilities as crown prince". His older brother during his time as Crown Prince carried the title Kōtaishi (Crown Prince, 皇太子 lit. "Great Imperial Son"), and was also referred by the Japanese press with this title until his accession to the throne. However Prince Akishino did not receive
3780-405: Was founded. On 18 February, the Japanese government called on the GHQ to reconsider the MacArthur Draft, which is significantly different from the Matsumoto Draft, but Whitney rejected the proposal on 20 February. On the contrary, he asked the Japanese government for a reply within 48 hours. Then, Prime Minister Shidehara met with MacArthur on 21 February and decided to accept the MacArthur draft by
3843-458: Was held on 27 October 1945. Jōji Matsumoto presented the following four principles of constitutional amendment to the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives in 1945. Four principles of constitutional amendment The Matsumoto Committee has prepared a constitutional amendment outline based on these principles. The Matsumoto Commission's recommendations ( ja:松本試案 ), made public in February 1946, were quite conservative as "no more than
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#17327767645333906-424: Was organized by Higashikuni Cabinet (Prime Minister Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni ), with Fumimaro Konoe , who had served as the prime minister during the Manchurian Incident in 1931, as a minister without portfolio. The trigger of constitutional amendment was from GHQ General MacArthur's word to Fumimaro Konoe. After an unsuccessful first visit on 13 September 1945, Fumimaro Konoe paid another visit to MacArthur at
3969-454: Was the first general election in Japan in which women were permitted to vote . In the process of passing through the House of Representatives in August 1946, the draft of the Constitutional Amendment was modified. This is called the Ashida Amendment, since the chairman of the committee at the time was Hitoshi Ashida. In particular, Article 9, which refers to the renunciation of armed forces, was controversial. The phrase "In order to accomplish
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