Japan Received First Written Constitution

In 1889 Japan adopted its first written constitution, known as the Meiji Constitution, a landmark in the modernization launched after the restoration of imperial rule two decades earlier. The Meiji leaders, seeking both to strengthen the state and to win recognition as an equal among the Western powers, studied foreign systems of government and modeled the document in large part on that of imperial Germany.

The constitution was promulgated as a gift from the emperor to his people, and it preserved a central and exalted position for the throne. Sovereignty resided in the emperor, who was declared sacred and inviolable and who retained extensive powers over the government and the armed forces. At the same time, it established a bicameral parliament, the Imperial Diet, and granted subjects a range of defined rights.

Under its terms the emperor exercised legislative power with the consent of the Diet, so that no law could take effect without the assembly's approval, and the Diet gained authority over the budget. Although the franchise was initially narrow and real power remained concentrated among a small elite, the constitution introduced representative institutions and gave Japan the form of a modern constitutional state, remaining in force until after the Second World War.