Minister Kanamori's Six Principles
on the
Constitutional Reform
17 July, 1946.
1. Under the new constitution Japan's basic government structure
with the Emperor as the center is radically modified. There are those who think
that the basic government with the Emperor as the center constitutes Japan's
national character. But that, I believe, is the form of government, and not the
character of nationhood.
2. Under the present constitution the will of the people is concretely expressed
through the Emperor. But that is not the case with the new constitution, according
to which the people's will finds concrete expression largely through the Diet.
3. Under the new constitution the Emperor remains simply a symbol. By saying
that the Emperor is the symbol of the state and of national unity, it is meant
essentially that in the person of the Emperor we may see the picture of Japan.
It does not mean that he personifies the will of the state or of the people.
4. Under the present constitution the Emperor has the power to do practically
everything. The new constitution clearly specifies his functions, beyond which
he is not empowered to do anything. (It is absolutely impossible to extend or
increase his functions by legislation.)
5. It has been generally considered that the position of the
Emperor under the present constitution is based upon the will of the Emperor,
or the hereditary will of the Imperial family. Under the new constitution the
Emperor's position is derived solely from the will of the people.
6. But in the moral and spiritual sphere, apart from the question of government
structure, the Emperor remains throughout both before and after the constitutional
reform the center of the nation's devotion. The statement that Japan's national
character does not change has reference to this point.