A Constitutional Proposal
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by Reiji Mitsurugi
While the Ashigaru Taishou had intended to publish a series of culturally-themed articles, we are going to take a step in the opposite direction for now. Kyonkyon, the Minamoto government's choice for culture and events has taken the initiative in spreading both Japanese and Korean culture in our nation, so we here at the Taishou (that is, me, Reiji Mitsurugi) feel comfortable being lax in our own cultural educational programming.
So for now, I am going to share something a little more political. Recently, my colleague in the Diet, Miyamoto Musashi, raised to the people the issue of a constitution. I presented the first draft of the document in the Diet last week and it has since undergone a few revisions. But since Congressman Miyamoto has presented it to the people (though it was visible to all citizens registered at the National Forum) in his newspaper, I will go ahead and share the complete text of the section regarding the Emperor, to which he has certain objections. Since I am the principal author of this document, I give myself permission to reprint it here:
Chapter Three: The Emperor
Article 1. The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by an unbroken line of Emperors descended from Kokawayoshi Makoto.
Article 2. 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 3. Upon ascension to the Imperial Throne, the New Emperor shall appoint a successor, according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law.
Article 4. The Emperor is sacred and inviolable.
Article 5. The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, and exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution.
Article 6. The Emperor is above politics. He is therefore forbidden to participate in any political party, election or other function of the electoral state. So too is he immune to it.
Article 7. The Emperor exercises no legislative power.
Article 8. The Emperor convokes the Imperial Diet, opens, closes, and prorogues it.
Article 9. The Emperor, in consequence of an urgent necessity to maintain public safety or to avert public calamities, issues Imperial Ordinances in the place of law. Such Imperial Ordinances are to be laid before the Imperial Diet at its next session, and when the Diet does not approve the said Ordinances, the Government shall declare them to be invalid for the future.
Article 10. The Emperor has the supreme command of the Imperial Army.
Article 11. No property can be given to, or received by, the Imperial House, nor can any gifts be made therefrom, without the authorization of the Diet.
Article 12. The Emperor confers titles of nobility, rank, orders and other marks of honor.
Article 13. The Emperor receives foreign ambassadors and ministers.
Article 14. The Emperor attests instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law.
Article 15. The Emperor performs ceremonial functions.
After the good Congressman's raising of my constitutional question, some of the people and soldiers of Japan raised legitimate concerns. Questions of autocracy or monarchical oppression or other such things. As you can see here, in the true text of the document, the purpose of the Emperor is to be a cultural unifier, not a governor. He is something that makes Japan unique to the world. He is not a replacement for the President or the Congress. And in fact he derives "his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power."
Still, I do not claim that my document is perfect and it is far from being approved by the Diet. And the Emperor is only Chapter Three of a six-chapter document. So there is much more to discuss. I urge all citizens therefore to register at our National Forum to participate in the discussion and write their representatives to do the same.
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Comments
Voted and Subscribed Babe
ARGH. Finally.
I had to take out all of my pretty formatting to make it post.
You've made a powerful enemy today, eRepublik.
Article 10: seriously?
I understand your intentions, but I do not agree with the establishment of the position of Emperor.
If you can't give gifts to the Emperor (Kokawa, and btw why him?) does that mean that literally he cannot receive gifts in game? Seems like a bad position to be in if you have low wellness.
So the emperor will be nothing like a emperor and that is fun? No lineage, no life-long position. No special attributes nor powers, no way to enforce the "respect" for that position. etc.
Even for roleplaying purposes there are a lot of problems.
Will the emperor be given only 5 star food and house for free because of his position or we will have the emperor harvesting grain or making guns to have something to eat?
How are you going to enforce point 4? What happens if someone publish an article mocking the emperor, or if the emperor get another citizenship (and Japanese emperor is North Korean...) or gets banned, hacked, starves, etc?
By eRepublik rules any emperor will be only a bad Joke simply because there is no way to enforce his position, forcing the existence of an emperor only means that anyone can step on or abuse what is supposed to be sacred. Being realistic, you are proposing the ministry of culture position and nothing more.
"the purpose of the Emperor is to be a cultural unifier, not a governor. He is something that makes Japan unique to the world"
how is that any different than the English Monarchy?
for that matter, how is having an emperor unique at all, given that nearly every square centimeter of Earth has been ruled over by an Autocrat at one point?
Emperors and 'cultural' monarchs are maintained in the real world to keep a strong connection to the past and to a shared cultural experience. But they were created originally to be governors.
Here you want to create a 'cultural' monarch from scratch, in hope that he will foster a shared cultural experience. That experience cannot be created by a position.
I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of an emperor, but I don't see how it isn't just a gimmick
this seems pretty absurd...
An eEmperor would simply add a bit of flavor to an otherwise generic eRepublik nation and that is what Reiji-san is attempting to achieve with this section of the constitutions.
Others have correctly pointed out that much of the constitution is basically an unenforceable contract with no game mechanics to support its features. However, the roleplaying aspect allows for individual citizens to choose their level of involvement (like "Fight Club" ha ha).
For example, if the constitution establishes that a 60% vote of congress is adequate to force the dismissal of a particular cabinet member, the President would be obliged to turn over the cabinet functions (and related organizations) to a newly appointed member. Refusal to do so would mean the President defied congress and the constitution and could face unhappy voters in the election, i.e.--it could give us something more in our presidential and congressional elections than "vote for me because I am popular!" Candidates could take a stand on voting records and which cabinet members they support.
Of course, this all requires an informed electorate, like the real world, so all of our good Congressman Reiji's efforts may be for nothing, but I think the attempt to put some rules in clear writing will enhance government transparency.
"I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of an emperor, but I don't see how it isn't just a gimmick"
Then you see exactly what it is.
It's a gimmick.
But that's not a bad thing.
You're right. All of this is way outside game mechanics and totally made up and blah blah whatever. But that's also the point. We're making something up for fun.
So this will be like any other eReligion, except that all players with a eJapanese citizenship are expected to become followers?
"Article 10. The Emperor has the supreme command of the Imperial Army."
No.
This requires a longer answer, but for now I want to make a couple of points. First of all, voted the article, the people of eJapan must know what is happening in the background and this is an important issue. With much respect for the work done for the constitution of eJapan, and the care that went into it, I respectfully dissent with the idea of ever having an Emperor of eJapan. In a nutshell, eRepublik is an opportunity to do things DIFFERENTLY from RL. eJapan can and should be different from eJapan, take the other fork in the road. I am an avid roleplayer but I oppose the role of an eEmperor for our country, especially an eJapan that can lead the way as a new eastern superpower in teh post eWW3 world. an eEmperor will only bring back memories of eJapanese imperialism, instead of a clean slate that could be the foundation for a new Eastern Democracy. To a new Rising Sun Federation without Emperors!
I see there is a lot of hubbub surrounding that Article 10 and the Emperor's relationship to the Army. The point there is to establish that the 'Imperial' Army obeys the 'Emperor,' but really only inasmuch as the real life 'Royal' Army of the United Kingdom obeys the 'Queen'. A ceremonial leader, but the Army of course takes its actual orders from its generals and the Ministry of Defense.
I will make an edit in the next draft to clarify this.
The Emperor is nice only as a face of the Nation, but don't people usually represent the country instead of one person?
I'm definitely not suggesting we give up the diplomatic corps, if that's what you're saying.
Not only is it a critical piece of the state apparatus, but I wouldn't surrender my cushy post as Ambassador to China for all the tea in...
...well, you know.
I kindly dissent with this part of the Constitution, and quite frankly, what is the point of a constitution at all? eRepublik already has a few basic guidelines as to the government format, so a constitution in some cases isn't that much necessary.
Now, I understand the cultural aspect of having an emperor in eJapan, but this correlates us too much to the RL Japan. That doesn't mean that I am saying RL Japan = bad, but this should be our chance to shape the future as a "What If?" secenario, what if Japan didn't have an emperor? etc. After all eRepublik 😕= real life, and in this scenario, bringing something from the real world to the cyber-world would be complicated due to the games limits.
Now overall, an emperor would have to be strictly forum related, because eRepublik doesn't give us the chance to implement that kind of system. It is unique, but it would be very difficult overall to implement.
You're very astute. I'm obviously not claiming in any way that the acceptance of anything I write anywhere can change the mechanics of the game. Those are a given. As are the things for which a person can be banned and whatever else.
Like you said, the point is culture. Every nation in the New World is identical. The only thing that's different is the little flag under your name. The way we make ourselves unique is with the culture of each place. And every nation definitely has that already, without crap like an Emperor and whatever. I'm just doing this to strengthen it.
And further, like you said, most all if it is on the forum and in the media. That's where it belongs, really. But that's where I think it would be fun. That's the point here. Fun. I just did all this to add some more fun. It's definitely unnecessary but I think it's fun.
And further, I definitely don't want to copy real life Japan here. I think the culture of real life Japan is why a lot of our citizens are here (honestly, there are only like five Japanese nationals in eJapan, and I'm not even one of them, I'm 日系人). So I think real Japanese culture is a good base from which to build our own unique, eJapanese culture. And that's what I'm trying to do.
For fun.
Yes, well put Reiji-san.
I'll add that the cultural aspect of the game is by no means "forum only." Reiji's making an effort to include our citizens who are not members of the forum in the discussion through media articles like this one. I hope he won't get discouraged by comments that seem unappreciative, and continue to post these articles to encourage wider discussion.
A Constitution will be a dead letter if it is not widely accepted. I definitely favor a constitution and I believe the best way to make is "stick" is to ask for not merely the people's acceptance, but for the people to be actively involved in its drafting.