Japan's Contested Constitution is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Japanese domestic politics and the international role of Japan. Subjects covered include;
* the no war, pacifist' clause
* tension between the constitution and the US-Japan security treaty
* the political import of the constitution for Japanese political parties
* the significance of the constitution for the Japanese people

Part 1. Analysis Parchment and politics: Japan's living constitution Introduction 1. Origins 2. Contested constitutionalism: the Cold War decades 3. Normative implications of the constitution 4. Okinawa 5. Anti-constitutional radicalism 6. Post Cold war: Searching for new arrangements 7. Revision Conclusion Part 2. Documents 1. A proposal for the revision of the text of the Constitution of Japan (1994) Yomiuri Shimbun 2. Peace and regional security in the Asia-Pacific: a Japanese proposal (1993-94) sekai 3. International cooperation and the constitution (1995) Ashai Shimbun 4. A proposal for reforming the Japanese Constitution (1999): breaking a post-war Japanese taboo, a current Japanese politician rewrites its provisons Ozawa Ichiro Part 3. Constitution texts 1. The constitution of the Empire of japan (meiji Constitution, 1889) 2. The Constitution of Japan (1947)