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The Japanese Constitution of 1946, which has been in effect since May 1947, states in its preamble that the constitution is founded on the "universal principle of mankind" ( jinrui fuhen no genri) that "government is a sacred trust [genshukuna shintaku] of the people, the authority for which is derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives of the people, and the benefits of which are enjoyed by the people." The constitution declares in its bill of rights section that "these fundamental human rights guaranteed to the people by this Constitution" are "eternal and inviolate rights." It includes a "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" among these fundamental rights.' The Declaration of Independence of the United States leaves clear marks of its influence on the present Japanese Constitution, which was drafted and promulgated as the culmination of the drastic reforms introduced into Japan under the guidance of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's general headquarters.
The Declaration of Independence had been known to Japanese since the midnineteenth century. Indeed, there had been an age in Japanese history, from the 1860s through the 1880s, when the American document was a source of inspiration and excitement for many Japanese. It was an age when philosophes of the Meiji Enlightenment introduced modern Western ideas to the Japanese audience and many political activists agitated for "freedom and the people's rights." In that age, the translation and propagation of Western ideas were means to promote change. Thus the Declaration of Independence played the role of the standard for change twice in the history of modern Japan, first in the decades of Meiji Enlightenment and the freedom and people's rights movement, and second in the years of democratization after Japan's defeat in World War II. Its basic idea having been firmly transplanted into the Japanese Constitution, the American document today quietly rests in Japan as a historical document without a role in political debate.
Translation of books written in Western languages, particularly in English, is a thriving business in Japan today as it was in the early Meiji era. Because of the great difference between the Western languages and Japanese, translation from English into Japanese is still not easy. Although English-Japanese dictionaries of high quality are...