ABSTRACT
Constitutions are instruments defining the powers of government. Written or unwritten, they spell out the balance of powers and duties between states, their bureaucracies, armies, and governments on the one hand, and their subjects, citizens, peoples, or civil societies on the other. The judiciary, when invited to pronounce upon it, took the view that the Japanese division of powers was one in which the will of the legislature took precedence, despite the powers granted it under Article Eighty-One to determine the constitutionality of any law, order, regulation, or official act. From the late 1980s, Japan was the preeminent military power in region, and its forces were supported by financial commitment larger than that of nuclear powers such as Britain or France. The Japanese claim to membership is based on economic weight and contribution to UN budgets and on the need to rethink the postwar settlement under which the world's then-victorious allied powers were rewarded with permanent seats on the Council.
