Article 9

E23699

Article 9 is the famous pacifist clause of Japan’s postwar constitution that renounces war and prohibits Japan from maintaining traditional military forces.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf constitutional provision
peace clause
adoptedIn 1946
aimsTo prevent Japan from waging war again
promote international peace
allows self-defense under certain interpretations
alsoKnownAs Renunciation of War
surface form: "Pacifist Clause"

Peace Clause
associatedWith Japan Self-Defense Forces
cameIntoForceOn 1947-05-03
comparedWith pacifist provisions in other national constitutions
country Japan
criticizedBy advocates of stronger national defense
debatedIssue collective self-defense
constitutional revision
constitutionality of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
declares the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation
the Japanese people renounce the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes
draftedUnderInfluenceOf Allied occupation of Germany
surface form: "Allied occupation authorities"

Allied occupation of Japan
surface form: "United States occupation of Japan"
hasTwoParagraphs Paragraph 1 on renunciation of war
Paragraph 2 on prohibition of war potential and belligerency
historicalContext post–World War II settlement in East Asia
influenced Japan’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations
Japan’s postwar security policy
inspiredBy pacifism
post–World War II demilitarization
interpretedBy Cabinet Legislation Bureau of Japan
surface form: "Cabinet Legislation Bureau"

Government of Japan
Supreme Court of Japan
language Japanese
legalStatus unamended since 1947
legalSystem Japanese law
partOf Constitution of Japan
politicallyAssociatedWith Japanese pacifist movements
Liberal Democratic Party
surface form: "Liberal Democratic Party of Japan"
provides land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained
the right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized
recognizedAs symbol of Japanese postwar pacifism
referencedIn international discussions on constitutional pacifism
relatedTo Japanese rearmament debate
1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security
surface form: "Japan–United States Security Treaty"
sectionOf Chapter II of the Constitution of Japan
subject limitations on armed forces
prohibition of war potential
renunciation of war
supportedBy many Japanese peace activists
typeOfRestriction constitutional limitation on use of force

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Renunciation of War article Article 9
this entity surface form: "Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan"
Nihon-koku Kenpō hasArticle Article 9
this entity surface form: "Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan"

Please wait…