THE ARTICLE 9 OF THE JAPANESE CONSTITUTION
THE ARTICLE 9 OF THE JAPANESE CONSTITUTION

Summary/Abstract: One of the most salient aspects of the present Constitution of Japan, promulgated on the 3rd of November, 1946, lies in its pacifist character. The second paragraph of its preamble states: „We, the Japanese people, desire peace for all time and are deeply conscious of the high ideals controlling human relationship, and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world ...” Furthermore, the article 9 of the Constitution reads as follows: „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. 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 the state will not be recognized." We can find in modern history a number of constitutions and treaties which renounced aggressive war. Especially, major powers solemnly promised in the Paris Pact of 1928 to „condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce it as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another”. This noble declaration, however, lost much of its value, as the representatives of the powers claimed that the Pact did not impose any restriction on the right of each state for self-defense, and that it was in the competence of each nation to decide whether it was necessary to resort to war for self-defense or not. What makes the Japanese Constitution really unique in its stipulations is that not only it renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation, but also it prohibits maintaining of war potential and denies itself the right of belligerency.

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