Editing Milo Rowell (section)

{{short description|American lawyer}}

{{More citations needed|date=August 2009}}
[[Image:Rowell memo 1946.jpg|thumb|Rowell and Whitney analyzed the many proposals in Japan's postwar constitutional debate, and outlined them to form the framework of the Japanese Constitution of 1946.]]
'''Lt. Col. Milo E. Rowell''' (July 25, 1903 – October 7, 1977) was an American lawyer and [[United States Army|Army]] officer best known for his role in drafting the [[Constitution of Japan]].<ref name=cipg>{{cite book|title=The allied occupation of Japan |first1=Eiji|last1= Takemae|first2= Robert|last2= Ricketts|first3= Sebastian|last3= Swann|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year= 2003|ISBN=0826415210}}</ref>

Born in [[Fresno, California]], Rowell graduated from [[Stanford University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], and returned to Fresno in 1926 to open a private law practice there. He enlisted in the Army in 1943, where he studied occupation administration and also commanded troops in the [[Philippines]].

Following Japan's surrender in 1945, Rowell moved to [[Tokyo]] and joined the [[Occupied Japan|occupation]] authority under [[Douglas MacArthur]] as Chief of Judicial Affairs. In this capacity, he worked with Brig. Gen. [[Courtney Whitney]] to prepare a draft constitution for the [[Diet of Japan]] to approve. Rowell extensively analyzed the existing [[Meiji Constitution]], balancing it with the demands of Japanese lawyers to form a draft that was acceptable to both the Japanese government and the GHQ.<ref name=cipg/>

Rowell donated his papers to the [[University of Tokyo]] in 1965. They now serve as one of the key [[legislative history]] sources in Japanese constitutional law.

Later in life, Rowell supported establishment of a medical school in his home town of Fresno.  This led to the establishment of the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine's Fresno-Central San Joaquin Valley Medical Education Program.  In 1981 the auditorium of the new Medical Education Building on the campus of Fresno's VA Medical Center was named in Rowell's honor.