Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday that he hopes to see a revised constitution go into effect in 2020, when the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of its constitution being enacted.
Speaking in a video message at a gathering to celebrate the anniversary, Abe said he wanted the language in the revised constitution to mention Japan's Self-Defense Forces.
An opinion piece published by the Japan Times on Wednesday however stated that "there does not appear to be any public consensus yet on what part of the constitution should be changed, how and why", before adding that constitutional revision "seems to reflect a lack of pressing practical needs for an amendment."
People look at the original version and copies of the Japanese Constitution during an exhibition to commemorate its 70th anniversary, at the National Archives of Japan in Tokyo on May 2, 2017. /VCG Photo
Abe and the ruling party Liberal Democratic Party have never hidden ambitions to get the constitution amended, given that Abe could potentially serve as prime minister until 2021. Opinion remains divided within the LDP over how the constitution should be revised. The party first drafted an amendment in 2012 calling for sweeping changes, but has now turned to seek a broader political and public endorsement, such as calling for emergency government powers in a national crisis and extending the tenures of Lower House members when the nation is hit by major disasters.
According to a poll conducted by the Kyodo News Agency last month, those surveyed are more split on revising Article 9 — 49 percent of people are in favor and 47 percent against. Among those in favor, "changes in the security environment surrounding Japan" was cited as the major reason.
Article 9 of Japan's pacifist constitution states that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes." It goes on to state that ... "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."
On the other hand, three-quarters of all respondents said Japan never engaged in the use of force overseas in its postwar years “because of Article 9,” giving it credit for the nation’s pacifist path since its World War Two defeat.
As Abe continues to push for the amendment to the constitution, the opinion piece in the Japan Times continued by saying "the constitution should not be amended just to fulfill the agendas of politicians or political parties, nor merely because there is the political window of opportunity in the form of the proponents’ grip on a Diet majority."
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