Country Foundations

Japan

Constitution in force since 1946, 4,998 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
83%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
86%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+4%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
78%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 95%, gap −5%Right to life100%95%−5%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom from torture100%81%−19%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 50%, practiced 78%, gap +28%Freedom from slavery and forced labour50%78%+28%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%89%−11%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Right to a fair and public trial100%90%−10%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 78%, gap +78%Due process of law0%78%+78%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Freedom of expression100%75%−25%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 67%, gap −33%Freedom of the press100%67%−33%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Freedom of thought and conscience100%74%−26%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Freedom of religion100%94%−6%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Academic freedom100%78%−22%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of assembly100%85%−15%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 95%, gap −5%Freedom of association100%95%−5%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 50%, practiced 91%, gap +41%Right to form and join trade unions50%91%+41%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Right to vote and universal suffrage100%93%−7%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 95%, gap +95%Right to privacy0%95%+95%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 92%, gap −8%Freedom of movement100%92%−8%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 91%, gap −9%Right to own property100%91%−9%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Equality before the law100%84%−16%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 97%, gap −3%Right to education100%97%−3%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Right to health care100%93%−7%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 96%, gap +96%Right to shelter or housing0%96%+96%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Independent judiciary100%72%−28%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001946: constitutional text changed (+49 pts declared)19001925195019752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1889–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom of expression −25%
  • Freedom of the press −33%
  • Freedom of thought and conscience −26%
  • Academic freedom −22%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Due process of law +78%
  • Right to privacy +95%
  • Right to shelter or housing +96%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1979
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1979
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1995
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1985
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1999
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1994
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2014
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2009
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.