1889 Japanese Constitution Document
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1. What do you think the following terms/articles mean?
· Article 1? That there will be an unbreakable line of heirs to the thrown · Article 3 ‘sacred and inviolable’ That the emperor is almost god like · Article 4 ‘the rights of sovereignty’ The emperor can do whatever he wants as long as it follows the constitution · Article 11 ‘Emperor has supreme command of the Army and Navy’ He has the right to start an act of war and use the army for what he wants · Article 12 ‘Emperor determines organization and peace standing of the Army and Navy’ He decides whether the army should fight or not · Article 17 ‘The Regent’ If a person is not old enough or deemed fit enough a regent as a representative of the king will make the decisions as the emperor would do 2. How many times is the word Emperor included in the document? 23 times 3. Draw a simple diagrammatic perspective of the new constitution 4. What were the limitations of the new constitution?
6. What other reforms took place after 1868? Tax could be payed in money, Four years of mandatory education, Peasants could now own land, the banking system was changed so that Low interest loans were available for entrepreneurs 7. What does the term ‘Rich Country, Strong Army’ mean in Japan’s context? A rich country meant a country that could become rich by itself without the help of other countries, and a strong army could be achieved once the country was rich 8. Why was Japan so keen to emulate the west yet be prepared to act in its own nationalistic way? Because by emulating the west they knew that Japan could become a rich country, but it acted in its own nationalistic way so that it could keep order in the country and also make it even better than the west 9. Write down a list of 10 words which describe Japan 1868-1905: -Monarchy -Industrial -Change -Reform -Independent -Modern -Powerful -Education -Nationalistic -Evolve |