Japan marks 69th anniversary of Constitution

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TOKYO —

Japan marked the 69th anniversary of its Constitution on Tuesday, with a turning point possibly approaching as the upper house election in the summer will prove critical to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s goal of amending it.

Abe has pushed for constitutional changes, including a controversial revision to the war-renouncing Article 9, saying that the current supreme law is a product of the U.S.-led occupation following the end of World War II in 1945 and that it is outdated in some areas. The Constitution was promulgated on Nov 3, 1946, and put into effect on May 3, 1947.

While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition ally Komeito together hold a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, another overwhelming victory for them in the House of Councillors election would be a key step toward a first-ever postwar constitutional revision.

A constitutional amendment must be proposed by the Diet with the backing of two-thirds of the members in each house of parliament and a majority of the Japanese people must approve it in a referendum. The conditions have never been met, leaving the supreme law as it is.

As winning a two-thirds majority in the upper house is a high hurdle to achieve by the LDP alone, the party hopes to seek cooperation not only from Komeito but also from some opposition parties in crafting an amendment proposal.

This means that the LDP will likely keep its arguments vague during campaigning for the upper house election to leave room for later discussions on the issue with other parties, a senior LDP official has indicated.

The LDP is also drawing up a strategy to work on revisions in stages, likely starting from changes deemed less controversial and then moving on to its ultimate goal of rewriting Article 9.

Revisions to begin with may include adding a clause conferring strong powers to the prime minister in emergency situations such as large-scale natural disasters and armed attacks against Japan by other countries, or creating a clause stipulating people’s right to enjoy a favorable natural environment.

But even if pro-reform Diet members reach two-thirds in both houses, the prospects of attaining any amendments are still unclear as parties differ in their focuses.

For example, Komeito is supportive of “adding” new ideas and clauses to the Constitution without changing its current basic principles, such as the respect for fundamental human rights.

The party also wants to keep the content of Article 9, which stipulates that Japan forever renounces war and bans the country from maintaining armed forces. But it is open to discussions, although cautiously, on stating the existence of the country’s Self-Defense Forces in the article.

The Initiatives from Osaka, an opposition party established last year by former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, could possibly partner with the LDP on constitutional amendment. It focuses on revisions such as launching an administrative system that gives more leeway to regional autonomy and offering free education from early childhood to university.

The main opposition Democratic Party has vowed to oppose any Article 9 amendment proposal by Abe’s government, while the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party are staunch supporters of the Constitution and have turned up the heat on Abe especially over new security laws that they believe have eroded Japan’s postwar pacifism.

Even if the LDP succeeds in the initial constitutional revision, the next step—rewriting Article 9—will be certain to be more challenging, with the majority of the public opposed to any change, according to opinion polls.

The LDP has said it has no intention of changing the pacifist ideals embedded in the Constitution.

But it is eager to remove an Article 9 clause banning Japan from possessing military forces and wants to clarify that the war-renouncing provision does not restrict the country from defending itself, including exercising the right to collective self-defense, which involves using force to support an ally under attack even if Japan itself is not attacked.

Before Abe returned to power in 2012, previous governments maintained the view that Japan has that right under international law, but cannot exercise it due to Article 9, which also bans the use of force to settle international disputes.

But Abe’s government decided to reinterpret Article 9 to enable Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense in a limited way and expanded the role of the SDF overseas under new security laws that took effect in March.

The issue has triggered a wave of protests among youths and other people who fear such legislation could lead Japan to become embroiled in war again. Moves to expand the SDF’s role have been largely contentious in the country, with its militaristic past still a source of friction with neighboring countries.
 
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The Yomiuri Shimbun (one of the five national newspapers in Japan)

Senior officials of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party and Komeito said in separate interviews with The Yomiuri Shimbun that it is desirable for the DP, the largest opposition party, to join in proposing constitutional revisions.

“Japan has never experienced a constitutional revision before,” LDP Secretary General Sadakazu Tanigaki said. “A process in which we [the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito], together at least with the largest opposition party, jointly propose it in the Diet and have it put to a national referendum is the most realistic.”

“It is important that we discuss the matter calmly and many parliamentary groups participate in the discussions,” Komeito Vice Representative Kazuo Kitagawa said. Kitagawa also serves as chief of Komeito’s research commission on the Constitution.

DP Secretary General Yukio Edano said, “The major ruling and opposition parties must agree to proceed with [constitutional revision] before the proposal is approved by the first national referendum.”

Tuesday marked the 69th anniversary of the Constitution’s coming into force.

The endorsement of two-thirds or more of lawmakers in each chamber of the Diet is necessary for the Diet to propose a constitutional revision to the public, followed by a national referendum through which such a proposal must be supported by a majority of the people.

The three senior officials of the ruling and opposition parties called for calm discussions on the matter with this procedure in mind.

Tanigaki, Edano and Kitagawa are positive about adding a new provision in the Constitution to provisionally extend lawmakers’ terms in emergency situations, such as a major disaster.

“It is stipulated [in the Constitution] that a House of Representatives member’s term is four years and a House of Councillors member’s term is six years, and therefore we cannot [extend] them by law or other means,” Tanigaki said. “This is something that the Constitution lacks.”

“In terms of crisis management, it is problematic if the term expires [during an emergency],” Edano said.

“It is necessary for the Diet to function [in an emergency] and therefore it [the extension of lawmakers’ terms] will be a subject for discussions,” Kitagawa said.
 
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50,000 rally in Tokyo for preservation of Japan's pacifist Constitution
9.jpg


Some 50,000 people gathered at a park in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on May 3 to call for the preservation of Japan's pacifist Constitution and the scrapping of security-related laws passed last September, according to protest organizers.

The crowds carried placards reading "Scrap the war law," and "Don't wreck Article 9" -- referring to the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution -- and chanted "Protect the Constitution!"

Also at the rally were the leaders of the opposition Democratic Party, Japanese Communist Party, Social Democratic Party, and People's Life Party. Joining them on-stage was Takeji Muno, a 101-year-old journalist who covered World War II.

"There is no stopping a war once it's started," Muno told the crowd from his wheelchair. "The energy of the young people here is overflowing. Keep on struggling to the very end!"

Aki Okuda, a 23-year-old core member of the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs) activist group, said, "We are the ones who hold sovereignty under the Constitution. It has unfailingly supported our endeavors for the past 70 years. The passages written into the Constitution are not the words of people from the deep past; they are our words."

Waseda University professor Mutsuko Asakura added, "The current administration (of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) has, through repeatedly ignoring the rules, sunk into depravity."

It was also announced at the rally that some 12 million signatures had been collected so far on a petition calling for the repeal of security legislation passed last year allowing Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. Organizers are aiming for 20 million signatures.

One 37-year-old Tokyo resident who came to the rally told the Mainichi, "This administration is heading to the right, and I feel there's a real risk that Japan will end up in a war if things keep on going like this. I decided that I really wanted to protect the Constitution."

A 33-year-old from Yokohama said, "For the sake of my children's future, I don't want the Constitution changed."