80% of Japanese Youths Find It Hard to Understand Preamble to the Constitution: The Nippon Foundation Poll (2)
Why do more than 80% of young people in Japan feel it is hard to understand the preamble to the Constitution of Japan. I believe one reason is that as pointed out by many observers, the charter was drafted in effect by GHQ (the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) shortly after the war, making it look like the product of translation with many sentences long and hard to understand. This was indicated in comments by some young Japanese polled, such as: “The wording of the preamble was difficult and it was hard to understand what it means as a whole” and “Sentences are too long.”
Of all respondents, 31.3% said the preamble should clearly mention Japanese values like history, traditions and culture, while 27.1% said it should not and 41.8% said they do not know.
Of those who said it should, notable opinions expressed were that the preamble should show Japan “in the shape of a democratic state with the Emperor as a symbol of national unity” (27.0%) and that it should specify “the philosophy of harmony and importance of family and home” (22.2%).
The constitution was promulgated on November 3, 1946, and came into effect on May 3, 1947. It comprises the preamble, 11 chapters and 103 articles. It has remained unamended for more than seven decades now.
Any constitutional amendment requires approval by two-thirds of both houses of the Diet (Parliament) and a majority in a national referendum. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has long pushed for amending the war-renouncing Article 9 to settle the status of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, along with other changes.
I have proposed that the constitution be “altered,” reflecting changes in society over time. It is the people who should think this over and decide. I believe the key is to make it more understandable and acceptable to the people by softening the tone of the messages and that is why I suggested we should use the word “alter” the constitution.
Above all, I hope the young people, who play a critical role in shaping the future of the country, will be more interested in the constitution as their own issue and think deeply about whether it should stay as it is or be altered.
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