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.
(2) Peers and peerage shall not be recognized.
(3) 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.
(2) All public officials are servants of the whole community
and not of any group thereof.
(3) Universal adult suffrage is guaranteed with regard to
the election of public officials.
(4) 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 law,
ordinances or regulations and for other matters, nor shall any
person be in any way discriminated against 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.
(2) No person shall be compelled to take part in any
religious acts, celebration, rite or practice.
(3) 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.
(2) 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.
(2) 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.
(2) 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.
(2) 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.
(2) All people shall be obligated to have all boys and girls
under their protection receive ordinary educations as provided
for by law. Such compulsory education shall be free.
Article 27. All people shall have the right and the
obligation to work.
(2) Standards for wages, hours, rest and other working
conditions shall be fixed by law.
(3) 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.
(2) Property rights shall be defined by law, in conformity
with the public welfare.
(3) Private property may be taken for public use upon just
compensation therefor.
Article 30. The people shall be liable to taxations 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.
(2) 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 39. In all criminal cases the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal.
(2) He shall be permitted full opportunity to examine all
witnesses, and he shall have the right of compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses on his behalf at public expense.
(3) 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.
(2) Confession made under compulsion, torture or threat, or
after prolonged arrest or detention shall not be admitted in
evidence.
(3) 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.