Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that "the time is ripe" to amend the country's pacifist Constitution, which has been in effect since the end of World War II.
"We will take a historic step towards the major goal of revising the constitution in this milestone year," Abe said during a gathering in Tokyo of lawmakers in favor of constitutional amendment ahead of a public holiday commemorating the enforcement of the postwar Constitution 70 years ago.
The original Japanese Constitution during an exhibition to commemorate its 70th anniversary, at the National Archives of Japan in Tokyo on May 2, 2017./VCG Photo
"This is the time to show the public our specific stance on the ideal Constitution," Abe said, citing the "increasingly severe security situation" as a reason for the move.
On Monday, Japan dispatched its biggest warship since World War II to escort and protect a US supply vessel in the first such action under the new security laws as tensions mount in the region over the DPKK.
The American-written "peace constitution," which has survived unchanged for 70 years, is best known for its Article 9, by which Japan renounces its right to wage war and promises that "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."
Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have long vowed constitutional revision, even since the party was founded in the 1950s, including changing the war-renouncing Article 9.
Shinzo Abe delivered his policy speech during a plenary session at the lower house of the parliament in Tokyo on Jan 20, 2017, vowing to revise the postwar Constitution./ VCG Photo.
In 2015, for example, the Liberal Democratic Party and its allies rammed legislation through parliament enabling Japan to engage in "collective security" – the defense of troops from its US ally and other friendly nations – if it was seriously threatened.
That triggered a backlash from legal scholars and lawyers – who argued the changes violated the constitution – and sparked demonstrations outside parliament.
While unlikely to seek the complete removal of the popular and war-renouncing Article 9, the pro-amendment parties advocate changes to its wording, such as recognizing the country's self-defense forces as a military and clarifying Japan's right to defend itself.
Public opinions about amending the Constitution, however, remain varied.
Public broadcaster NHK found only 25 percent of respondents in favor of changing it, with 57 percent opposed. Another survey by Kyodo News found 49 percent for and 47 percent against.
