The Diffusion of Religious Freedom in Japan

Religious freedom in Japan is a legal transplant, introduced due to contact with Western legal systems in the 19th century and subsequently entrenched by Article 20 of the current Constitution. This transplanted norm has operated within a complex religious landscape shaped by Shintō traditions alongside imported religions. Although challenges concerning religious freedom and the separation of religion and state persist, the Japanese experience demonstrates that this transplantation has produced tangible benefits. The constitutional framework has helped to clarify the relationship between religion and state, particularly with respect to Shintō, addressing entanglements that proved problematic in the prewar period. Central to this development is a sophisticated body of jurisprudence developed by the Japanese Supreme Court, which has refined doctrinal tests attentive to Japan’ s social and cultural context, evidencing the effective internalisation of transplanted norms. Constitutional protections have also safeguarded religious freedom, while permitting state intervention to restrict practices considered socially harmful. In this context, claims that the diffusion of religious freedom to Japan has failed are unpersuasive.