Constitution Day (Japanese. 海河 ⁇ 日) has been celebrated in Japan annually on May 3, since 1948 —, since the first anniversary of the entry into force of the new Constitution, and is a public holiday in the country.
The 1947 Constitution, although it inherited some provisions of the former Meiji Constitution, was of a fundamentally new nature, which was determined by the current situation in the country.
Defeated in World War II, American-occupied Japan was forced to accept Allied demands to democratize the political system. The main provisions of the new law of the state were the recognition of the sovereignty of the people, fundamental human rights, the principles of power sharing and local self-government.
Thus, Japan received a legal basis for development as a country with parliamentary democracy. The new definition was given to the role of an emperor who lost unlimited powers and became the «symbol of the state».
Even the 1947 Constitution proclaimed the renunciation of war (Article 9) as the sovereign right of the nation in resolving international disputes, which fundamentally distinguishes it from the constitutions of other states.
The text of the post-war Constitution was prepared by American lawyers from the headquarters of the occupation forces, taking into account the opinions of Japanese legal scholars and politicians. To some extent, this predetermined the fact that from time to time demands are heard in the political circles of the country to revise the Constitution and give it a «original national» character. After all, after May 3, 1947, no amendments were made to the Constitution of Japan.
On the holiday itself, which takes place during the so-called «golden week» (it includes Showa Day on April 29, Japanese Constitution Day on May 3, Green Day on May 4 and Children's Day on May 5), a number of educational institutions hold lectures on the significance of the democratic constitution for Japan, and on this day the Japanese Parliament building is open to visitors.