Postwar Constitution Takes Effect: Article 9 Renounces War

Japan's current constitution — drafted by SCAP legal staff in early 1946 and enacted May 3, 1947 — introduced popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, and crucially Article 9: Japan 'forever renounces war as a sovereign right' and 'will never maintain war potential.' The constitution also retained the Emperor as 'symbol of the state' without political power. It has never been formally amended, making it one of the world's most durable constitutions.