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Home > Japanese Society and Culture > No. 3 (2021)

 

Japanese Society and Culture

Keywords

Constitution of Japan, Article 20 of the Constitution of Japan, Religious Freedom, Separation of Religion and State, “Pacifist” Aspect of the Separation of Religion and State

Received Date

9-30-2020

Revised Date

10-30-2020

Accepted Date

11-11-2020

Publication Date

3-2021

Abstract

Article 20 of the Constitution of Japan stipulates the separation of religion and state. As in many countries, the primary purpose of the separation of religion and state is to guarantee religious freedom. However, in Japan, the separation of religion and state has the aim of preventing the revival of State Shinto or militarism. From this point of view, Article 20 of the Constitution of Japan can be understood as a kind of “pacifist clause.” This article points out the “pacifist” aspect of the separation of religion and state in Japan, based mainly on the drafting process of the current constitution, and plaintiffs’ allegations in the suits relating to separation of religion and state.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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