Powers and Functions of the Japanese Diet, II

The principle of “no taxation without representation,” so dearly prized in European constitutional systems, finds its counterpart in the Japanese régime. In the ornate language of Prince Ito: “It is one of the most beautiful features of constitutional government and a direct safeguard to the happiness of the subjects that the consent of the Diet is required for the imposition of a new tax and that such matters are not left to the arbitrary action of the Government.“ The enactment of this rule, so far as the Japanese constitution is concerned, is found in Article LXII, which reads:The imposition of a new tax or the modification of the rates [of an existing one] shall be determined by law. However, all such administrative fees or other revenue having the nature of compensation shall not fall within the category of the above clause. The raising of national loans with the contracting of other liabilities to the charge of the national treasury, except those that are provided in the budget, shall require the consent of the Imperial Diet.In their commentaries on this article, the jurists of the new school emphasize the requirement of the consent (kyosan) of the Diet for taxation, while the jurists of the old school emphasize the duty of the subject to submit to taxation.