Religion and the Japanese Constitution

Abstract

This paper examines provisions regarding religion in the 1947 Constitution of Japan, showing how they differ from the Meiji constitution of 1889. It examines policies on religion established by the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945‐1952), especially relating to Shinto, their implementation, and their relation to the 1947 constitution. The paper documents the process through which Occupation officials drafted entirely new articles on religion, displacing a Japanese government commission that was working to revise the Meiji constitution. The paper shows that while in post-Occupation discussions of constitutional revision, issues concerning religion have not been controversial, recent proposals for a revised constitution would introduce significant changes.