Editing Constitution of Japan (section)

=== Adoption ===
[[File:Nihon Kenpo03.jpg|thumb|The Preamble to the Constitution]]
[[File:Nihon Kenpo02.jpg|thumb|The Imperial Signature ''(upper right)'' and Seal]]

It was decided that in adopting the new document the Meiji Constitution would not be violated. Rather, to maintain legal continuity, the new Constitution was adopted as an amendment to the Meiji Constitution in accordance with the provisions of Article 73 of that document. Under Article 73, the new constitution was formally submitted to the [[Diet of Japan|Imperial Diet]], which was elected by [[universal suffrage]], which [[Women's suffrage in Japan|was also granted to women]], in 1946, by the Emperor through an imperial [[rescript]] issued on 20 June. The draft constitution was submitted and deliberated upon as the Bill for Revision of the Imperial Constitution.

The old constitution required that the bill receive the support of a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Diet to become law. Both chambers had made amendments. Without interference by MacArthur, [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] added Article 17, which guarantees the right to sue the State for the tort of officials, Article 40, which guarantees the right to sue the State for wrongful [[Detention (imprisonment)|detention]], and Article 25, which guarantees the [[right to life]].<ref>Hideki SHIBUTANI(渋谷秀樹)(2013) ''Japanese Constitutional Law. 2nd ed.''(''憲法　第2版'') p487 Yuhikaku Publishing(有斐閣)</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= 衆憲資第90号「日本国憲法の制定過程」に関する資料|website=Commission on the Constitution, The House of Representatives, Japan|url= http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_kenpou.nsf/html/kenpou/shukenshi090.pdf/$File/shukenshi090.pdf|access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref> The house also amended [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]]. The [[House of Peers (Japan)|House of Peers]] approved the document on 6 October; the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] adopted it in the same form the following day, with only five members voting against. It became law when it received the [[royal assent|imperial assent]] on 3 November 1946.<ref name="edict"/> Under its own terms, the constitution came into effect on 3 May 1947.

[[File:あたらしい憲法のはなし 戦争放棄.png|thumb|A drawing, illustrating the principle of renunciation of war, from {{ill|A Story of the New Constitution|ja|あたらしい憲法のはなし}}, a textbook for junior high school students published in 1947]]

A government organisation, the ''[[Kenpō Fukyū Kai]]'' ("Constitution Popularisation Society"), was established to promote the acceptance of the new constitution among the populace.<ref name=NDL>{{cite web|title=Publication and Work of the Constitution Popularization Society|url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/Constitution/e/shiryo/05/141shoshi.html|work=Birth of the Constitution of Japan|publisher=National Diet Library of Japan|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613084743/http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/shiryo/05/141shoshi.html|archive-date=13 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>