President Biden’s remark labeling Japan “xenophobic” reignited debate about the origins of Japan’s Constitution.
Interviews with GHQ officers reveal they viewed the document as a provisional constitution written by U.S. military personnel—not by the Japanese people.
Lt. Esman confessed that a constitution drafted by American soldiers and lawyers “could not possess legitimacy,” while Ensign Poole said he was assigned to the Emperor chapter simply because he shared Emperor Showa’s birthday.
GHQ believed Japan would eventually create its own permanent constitution, yet no amendment has ever been made.
Japan’s ruling party now prepares new amendment proposals amid warnings that inaction would become another hollow promise.

This habitual loose talk needs to be addressed somehow.
President Joe Biden has caused controversy by lumping Japan together with China and Russia and declaring the following.
“Japan has problems because it is xenophobic.”
This is an egregious misunderstanding of Japan, which not only welcomes foreign tourists but is even unable to properly expel illegal entrants and overstayers.

However, the following words he spoke as vice president on August 15, 2016, at a rally for the Democratic presidential candidate are not entirely off the mark.
“We wrote the Japanese Constitution so that Japan would not become a nuclear power.”
It is an undeniable fact that the draft constitution was written by the Government Section (GS) of the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Allied Powers.

Nishi Osamu, Professor Emeritus of Komazawa University, interviewed eight members of the Government Section in 1984–85.
According to his new book A Constitutional Life Story, GS Deputy Chief Charles Kades said:
“It’s been almost forty years since its enactment, and the Japanese Constitution has not been amended anywhere. I had assumed that at least some provisions must have been amended by now…”

First Lieutenant Esman, who was in charge of the chapter on “executive power,” confessed:
“I felt that a constitution created by American military officers and lawyers could not possess legitimacy.”
And Ensign Poole, who was responsible for chapters such as “the Emperor,” revealed the reason why he had been assigned.
“It was simply because my birthday happened to be April 29, the same as Emperor Showa’s.”

Nishi writes:
“They all believed that the constitution they created was a ‘provisional constitution,’ and that a ‘permanent constitution’ would surely be created later by the Japanese themselves.”
This is the true nature of the constitution that the Asahi Shimbun continues to praise as the “Peace Constitution” (May 3 editorial).

The Liberal Democratic Party is said to begin drafting concrete constitutional amendment proposals after the long holiday break.
Should this end once again as an empty “we’ll do it—we’ll do it” promise, the party’s strength will wither even further.