ABSTRACT
The basic law under the new constitution, Japan's Criminal Code, embodied the true principles of the Meiji Constitution. The sacred nature of the emperor enacted in Article 3 of the Meiji Constitution appeared in the Criminal Code's "crimes against the Imperial House". The Liberal Party mounted a strong counterattack as the summer began. Because Yoshida's arguments for preserving the law on high treason were not accepted, party members changed their tactics, opposing the part of the government's reform bill that concentrated on preserving the crime of lese ma jeste, which was easy for most people to accept. When the constitution was enacted in 1946, the government took the position that Article 9 renounced all forms of war, including wars of self defense, and told the youth of the country that "Japan will not possess troops, ships, airplanes or anything else that is for the purpose of war".
