Meiji Constitution

1889, Japan

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Meiji Constitution, constitution of Japan from 1889 to 1947. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), Japan’s leaders sought to create a constitution that would define Japan as a capable, modern nation deserving of Western respect while preserving their own power. The resultant document, largely the handiwork of the genro (elder statesman) Itō Hirobumi, called for a bicameral parliament (the Diet) with an elected lower house and a prime minister and cabinet appointed by the emperor. The emperor was granted supreme control of the army and navy. A privy council composed of the Meiji genro, created prior to the constitution, advised the emperor and wielded actual power. Voting restrictions, which limited the electorate to about 5 percent of the adult male population, were loosened over the next 25 years, resulting in universal male suffrage. Political parties made the most of their limited power in the 1920s, but in the 1930s the military was able to exert control without violating the constitution. After World War II, a U.S.-approved constitution stating that “sovereign power resides with the people” replaced the Meiji Constitution.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.