Upon doing my last EBP on the Asian Values discourse, I came across the roots of Japan’s democracy and how it has strong relations to Confucianism. Confucianism is a system of thought originating from Chinese culture and philosophy. Through spiritual and/or traditional practices, its aim is to maintain a unified social order. With time, these practices essentially became norms, built on mutual obligations. Therefore, Confucianism is arguably the foundation of East Asian norms relevant in our current society and beyond philosophy, it has infiltrated the region’s politics.
In Japan, the first constitution enacted by Prince Shotoku in 604 AD was influenced by Confucianism. Notably, the first principle of the constitution read “Cherish the harmony among the people” which strongly emphasises the Confucianism value of promoting communal peace and harmony. While democracy hadn't been established yet in East Asia at this point, you can argue that this way of thinking is inherently democratic in nature. It is also crucial to understand that democracy was made in Europe for their people, hence it is a European framework taking elements from their culture and society. In order to relate it to non-European societies, its frameworks should be viewed in a flexible manner, with only its core values in mind.
Since then, Japan has taken many different government systems, such as militarism during the World Wars and taking elements of the UK monarchy under their royal family. Currently, Japan can be described as a democratic state and its society operates under strict norms linking back to Confucianism. While Confucianism principles are not formally ratified it can be recognised everywhere in its society.
references:
https://www.hudson.org/democracy/first-democracy-japan-jun-isomura
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