The Imperial, or Meiji, Constitution was the fundamental law of the Empire of Japan from 1889 until 1947. Enacted after the Meiji Revival, it provided for a form of constitutional monarchy based on the Prussian model. This constitution allowed the active Emperor to wield considerable political power, but this control was to be shared with an elected assembly. What did Ito Hirobumi, who was charged with drafting Japan's constitution, think of the different Western constitutions that he reviewed?
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