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a warrant; torture is forbidden and no one may be required to testify against himself;
no person may be tried by an ex post facto law or placed in double jeopardy; in criminal
cases the accused shall enjoy a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal and
if he is unable to obtain competent counsel same shall be provided by the State. Any
person after acquittal may sue the state for redress.
Generally speaking the rights and privileges of the individual appear ade-
quately protected under the new Constitution; provisions of the document are liberal.
Whether the provisions for civil liberties will stand the test of time or will gradually
be disregarded remains to be determined. In this regard it must be recalled that the
Japanese Government of necessity complied with SCAP orders for the discontinuance
of controls over civil rights, and the removal of restrictions was almost exclusively
a result of SCAP directives and not of Japanese initiative. For reasons of the Occu-
pation, SCAP has had temporarily to discontinue certain freedoms, thereby permit-
ting some Japanese to doubt American sincerity. Although the removal of restric-
tions has received general Japanese approval, there have been a few cases of genuine
disorder by those interpreting the liberties too freely on the one hand, and on the
other hand, there has been a tendency in some classes to favor the tightening of con-
trols for the sake of public order.
Civil liberties are not yet popularly understood and appreciated in Japan.
Any over-all estimate of the long run success of civil rights must take into consider-
ation the following: The Constitution provides a legal basis for the protection of lib-
erties in the future in Japan but there has not yet been created a widespread demand
for the enforcement of these liberties; despite superficial Japanese cooperation, there
is an age-old tradition of the subordination of the individual to the welfare of the
state combined with a Japanese tendency to take foreign models and SO adapt them
as to change their substance.
j. Public Information.
The development of an independent public opinion, one of the major factors
in the democratization of Japan, is largely dependent upon the free circulation of
information and ideas through the press, radio, and other media of public informa-
tion. Before the surrender, Japanese governments used their control of informational
media as one tool in creating and directing public opinion. The Allied Occupation
has sought to remove government controls, to discourage militaristic and ultra-na-
tionalistic thought, and to encourage the growth of democratic tendencies in and
through media of information. These policies have been implemented through a com-
bination of directives, direct controls, and educational methods.
Although the exercise of occupational controls is limited to as narrow a scope
as possible, their very existence inevitably contradicts the principles of freedom of
information and expression and actively hinders the practice, and therefore the es-
pousal, of these fundamental precepts by the Japanese. The danger exists that future
Japanese officials may reason that restrictions on freedom of expression and infor-
mation, if justified by the needs and objectives of the Occupation, may also be justi-
fied by alleged political and social needs of the post-Occupation period. All important
I-11
SECRET
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Document data
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- 486500942
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- document
DTO data
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Context sent to Scholar
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Document source extras
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Page context
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"ocrText": "SECRET\na warrant; torture is forbidden and no one may be required to testify against himself;\nno person may be tried by an ex post facto law or placed in double jeopardy; in criminal\ncases the accused shall enjoy a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal and\nif he is unable to obtain competent counsel same shall be provided by the State. Any\nperson after acquittal may sue the state for redress.\nGenerally speaking the rights and privileges of the individual appear ade-\nquately protected under the new Constitution; provisions of the document are liberal.\nWhether the provisions for civil liberties will stand the test of time or will gradually\nbe disregarded remains to be determined. In this regard it must be recalled that the\nJapanese Government of necessity complied with SCAP orders for the discontinuance\nof controls over civil rights, and the removal of restrictions was almost exclusively\na result of SCAP directives and not of Japanese initiative. For reasons of the Occu-\npation, SCAP has had temporarily to discontinue certain freedoms, thereby permit-\nting some Japanese to doubt American sincerity. Although the removal of restric-\ntions has received general Japanese approval, there have been a few cases of genuine\ndisorder by those interpreting the liberties too freely on the one hand, and on the\nother hand, there has been a tendency in some classes to favor the tightening of con-\ntrols for the sake of public order.\nCivil liberties are not yet popularly understood and appreciated in Japan.\nAny over-all estimate of the long run success of civil rights must take into consider-\nation the following: The Constitution provides a legal basis for the protection of lib-\nerties in the future in Japan but there has not yet been created a widespread demand\nfor the enforcement of these liberties; despite superficial Japanese cooperation, there\nis an age-old tradition of the subordination of the individual to the welfare of the\nstate combined with a Japanese tendency to take foreign models and SO adapt them\nas to change their substance.\nj. Public Information.\nThe development of an independent public opinion, one of the major factors\nin the democratization of Japan, is largely dependent upon the free circulation of\ninformation and ideas through the press, radio, and other media of public informa-\ntion. Before the surrender, Japanese governments used their control of informational\nmedia as one tool in creating and directing public opinion. The Allied Occupation\nhas sought to remove government controls, to discourage militaristic and ultra-na-\ntionalistic thought, and to encourage the growth of democratic tendencies in and\nthrough media of information. These policies have been implemented through a com-\nbination of directives, direct controls, and educational methods.\nAlthough the exercise of occupational controls is limited to as narrow a scope\nas possible, their very existence inevitably contradicts the principles of freedom of\ninformation and expression and actively hinders the practice, and therefore the es-\npousal, of these fundamental precepts by the Japanese. The danger exists that future\nJapanese officials may reason that restrictions on freedom of expression and infor-\nmation, if justified by the needs and objectives of the Occupation, may also be justi-\nfied by alleged political and social needs of the post-Occupation period. All important\nI-11\nSECRET"
}