紀要論文

紀要論文

text

Osaka University Law Review. 2022, 69, p. 23-49

Equality of Men and Women in Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution (1947) : The Role of Beate Sirota (1923–2012) and Beyond

Van Den Berg, Peter A. J.

Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University

英語

text

2022-02

Articles

Beate Sirota has been described as the ‘heroine of Japanese women’s rights’, because of her considerable contribution regarding the inclusion of a forceful provision on the rights of women in the new Constitution of Japan formulated in 1947. She performed this task as a member of the Government Section of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), a position held by General Douglas MacArthur. Her role was serendipitous because the US occupying forces did not initially intend to conduct a thorough revision of the Meiji Constitution (1890). Moreover, Sirota was not a constitutional scholar, let alone an expert on the rights of women. However, after she got involved in the drafting of a new constitution, her intimate knowledge of the position of women in Japanese society due to spending her youth in Japan proved useful. She proposed elaborate and detailed provisions on women’s rights (Article 24) in the draft of the new constitution to counter the expected resistance. Since its introduction, the provision has been a firm anchor for the proponents of the emancipation of women in Japan. This paper aims to examine the determining factors and circumstances of Article 24 of the Constitution of Japan, Sirota’s role in its realisation, and the aftermath.

86399

Equality of Men and Women in Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution (1947) : The Role of Beate Sirota (1923–2012) and Beyond

Van Den Berg, Peter A. J.

Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University

英語

2022-02

Osaka University Law Review

69

23

49

https://hdl.handle.net/11094/86399