Tokujirō Kanamori

“ In addition, it is stipulated in the new Constitution that the Emperor is the symbol of national unity. The reason the words ‘national unity‘ are introduced in it should be to correct the past evil that individuals, who ultimately form a nation, were all too rarely recognized because or too much importance attached to the nation at a whole. The nation clearly stipulated as being a gathering of individuals, I do not believe-that the Emperor's position as a symbol of the nation is without foundation because, fundamentally, he has an intrinsic character as a national symbol. ”

“ National polity should be criterion for national unity. In order to define the concept of national polity we muet first consider what it is as interpreted in the people's minds. Secondly, a national polity should be the criterion for a nation's permanent unity. From these two points, it is proper to say that what should be called national polity in Japan lies mainly in the proposition that the people are united, with the Emperor as nucleus, and the State is formed on this basis. ”

“ But, contradictorily, one cannot fail to realize that national unity remains unchanged regardless of the change in national polity.
Popular sovereignty should be considered a change in recognition of the people. Inadvertently speaking, the idea of popular sovereignty is not an entirely new one. ”