Article 1.  The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity 
of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom 
resides sovereign power. 

  Article 9.  Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice
and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the
nation and the threat or use of force as means of setting international
disputes.
  In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and
air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right
of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

  Article 10.  The conditions necessary for being a Japanese national shall 
be determined by law.  

  Article 11.  The people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the 
fundamental human rights. These fundamental human rights guaranteed to the 
people by this Constitution shall be conferred upon the people of this and 
future generations as eternal and inviolate rights.

  Article 12.  The freedoms and rights guaranteed to the people by this 
Constitution shall be maintained by the constant endeavor of the people, who 
shall refrain from any abuse of these freedoms and rights and shall always be 
responsible for utilizing them for the public welfare.

  Article 13.  All of the people shall be respected as individuals. Their
right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall, to the extent that 
it does not interfere with the public welfare, be the supreme consideration in
legislation and in other governmental affairs.

  Article 14.  All of the people are equal under the law and there 
shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because 
of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.
  Peers and peerage shall not be recognized.
  No privilege shall accompany any award of honor, decoration or any 
distinction, nor shall any such award be valid beyond the lifetime of the 
individual who now holds or hereafter may receive it.

  Article 15.  The people have the inalienable right to choose their public 
officials and to dismiss them.
  All public officials are servants of the whole community and not of any 
group thereof.
  Universal adult suffrage is guaranteed with regard to the election of public
officials.
  In all elections, secrecy of the ballot shall not be violated. A voter shall 
not be answerable, publicly or privately, for the choice he has made.

  Article 16.  Every person shall have the right of peaceful petition for the 
redress of damage, for the removal of public officials, for the enactment, 
repeal or amendment of laws, ordinances or regulations and for other matters; 
nor shall any person be in any way discriminated against for sponsoring such 
a petition.

  Article 17.  Every person may sue for redress as provided by law from the 
State or a public entity, in case he has suffered damage through illegal act 
of any public official.

  Article 18.  No person shall be held in bondage of any kind. Involuntary 
servitude, except as punishment for crime, is prohibited.

  Article 19.  Freedom of thought and conscience shall not be violated.

  Article 20.  Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious
organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any
political authority.
  No person shall be compelled to take part in any religious act, celebration,
rite or practice.
  The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other
religious activity.

  Article 21.  Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press 
and all other forms of expression are guaranteed.
  No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of 
communication be violated.

  Article 22.  Every person shall have freedom to choose and change 
his residence and to choose his occupation to the extent that it does not 
interfere with the public welfare.
  Freedom of all persons to move to a foreign country and to divest themselves 
of their nationality shall be inviolate.

  Article 23.  Academic freedom is guaranteed.

  Article 24.  Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both 
sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal 
rights of husband and wife as a basis.
  With regard to choice of spouse, property rights, inheritance, choice of 
domicile, divorce and other matters pertaining to marriage and the family,
laws shall be enacted from the standpoint of individual dignity and the 
essential equality of the sexes.

  Article 25.  All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum
standards of wholesome and cultured living.
  In all spheres of life, the State shall use its endeavors for the promotion 
and extension of social welfare and security, and of public health.

  Article 26.  All people shall have the right to receive an equal education
correspondent to their ability, as provided by law.
  All people shall be obligated to have all boys and girls under their 
protection receive ordinary education as provided for by law. Such 
compulsory education shall be free.

  Article 27.  All people shall have the right and the obligation to work.
  Standards for wages, hours, rest and other working conditions shall be 
fixed by law.
  Children shall not be exploited.
 
  Article 28.  The right of workers to organize and to bargain and act 
collectively is guaranteed.
          
  Article 29.  The right to own or to hold property is inviolable.
  Property rights shall be defined by law, in conformity with the public 
welfare.
  Private  property may be taken for public use upon just compensation 
therefor.

  Article 30.  The people shall be liable to taxation as provided by law.
   
  Article 31.  No person shall be deprived of life or liberty, nor shall 
any other criminal penalty be imposed, except according to procedure 
established by law.

  Article 32.  No person shall be denied the right of access to the courts.

  Article 33.  No person shall be apprehended except upon warrant issued 
by a competent judicial officer which specifies the offense with which 
the person is charged, unless he is apprehended, the offense being committed.

  Article 34.  No person shall be arrested or detained without being 
at once informed of the charges against him or without the immediate
privilege of counsel; nor shall he be detained without adequate cause; 
and upon demand of any person such cause must be immediately shown in 
open court in his presence and the presence of his counsel.
    
  Article 35.  The right of all persons to be secure in their homes, papers 
and effects against entries, searches and seizures shall not be impaired 
except upon warrant issued for adequate cause and particularly describing 
the place to be searched and things to be seized, or except as provided 
by Article 33.
  Each search or seizure shall be made upon separate warrant issued by a 
competent judicial officer.

  Article 36.  The infliction of torture by any public officer and cruel 
punishments are absolutely forbidden.
   
  Article 37.  In all criminal cases the accused shall enjoy the right 
to a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal.
  He shall be permitted full opportunity to examined all witnesses, and he 
shall have the right of compulsory process for obtaining witnesses on 
his behalf at public expense.
  At all times the accused shall have the assistance of competent counsel 
who shall, if the accused is unable to secure the same by his own efforts,
be assigned to his use by the State.
          
  Article 38.  No person shall be compelled to testify against himself.
  Confession made under compulsion, torture or threat, or after prolonged 
arrest or detention shall not be admitted in evidence.
  No person shall be convicted or punished in cases where the only proof 
against him is his own confession.

  Article 39.  No person shall be held criminally liable for an act which 
was lawful at the time it was committed, or of which he has been 
acquitted, nor shall he be placed in double jeopardy.

  Article 40.  Any person, in case he is acquitted after he has been arrested 
or detained, may sue the State for redress as provided by law.

  Article 41.  The Diet shall be the highest organ of state power, and shall 
be the sole law-making organ of the State.

  Article 65.  Executive power shall be vested in the Cabinet.

  Article 76.  The whole judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court and in 
such inferior courts as are established by law.
  No extraordinary tribunal shall be established, nor shall any organ or 
agency of the Executive be given final judicial power.
  All judges shall be independent in the exercise of their conscience and 
shall be bound only by this Constitution and the laws.

  Article 83.  The power to administer national finances shall be exercised 
as the Diet shall determine.

  Article 92.  Regulations concerning organization and operations of local 
public entities shall be fixed by law in accordance with the principle of 
local autonomy.

  Article 97.  The fundamental human rights by this Constitution guaranteed 
to the people of Japan are fruits of the age-old struggle of man to be free; 
they have survived the many exacting tests for durability and are conferred 
upon this and future generations in trust, to be held for all time inviolate.

  Article 98.  This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the nation and 
no law, ordinance, imperial rescript or other act of government, or part 
thereof, contrary to the provisions hereof, shall have legal force or validity.
  The treaties concluded by Japan and established laws of nations shall be 
faithfully observed.