1947 Japanese general election
General elections were held in Japan on 25 April 1947. The Japan Socialist Party won 143 of the 468 seats, making it the largest party in the House of Representatives following the election. Voter turnout was 68%. It was the last election technically held under the Meiji Constitution in preparation for the current Constitution of Japan which became effective several days later on 3 May 1947. The upper house of the Diet was also elected by the people under the new constitution, the first ordinary election of members of the House of Councillors had been held five days before.
Image: 片山哲 (cropped)
Image: Shigeru Yoshida smiling 2
Image: Hitoshi Ashida
Image: Takeo Miki 2 1
The Constitution of Japan is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. It was written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II. The current Japanese constitution was promulgated as an amendment of the Meiji Constitution of 1890 on 3 November 1946 when it came into effect on 3 May 1947.
Preamble of the Constitution
The constitution of Japan was largely drafted by US lawyers in the occupation authority. This image is of a secret memo written by members of the authority on the subject of the new constitution.
The Preamble to the Constitution
The Imperial Signature (upper right) and Seal
