ALL this week, crowds have been waiting in hushed lines to view a yellowing document on display at the National Archives in Tokyo. For many, Japan’s war-renouncing constitution, written by an occupying army during a few sweltering days in 1946, is something of a sacred text.
ALL this week, crowds have been waiting in hushed lines to view a yellowing document on display at the National Archives in Tokyo. For many, Japan’s war-renouncing constitution, written by an occupying army during a few sweltering days in 1946, is something of a sacred text. But Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has made little secret of his desire to amend it. He chose the 70th anniversary of its entry into force, on May 3rd, to announce that he would try to secure changes to it by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics. That will require the approval of both houses of the Diet, along with popular assent through a referendum. The inevitably contentious debate will consume a huge amount of political energy over the next three years, possibly at the expense of Mr Abe’s already flagging economic reforms.
Mr Abe wants to end questions about the legality and appropriate use of Japan’s not-quite army, the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) , by amending Article 9, the constitution’s iconic pacifist clause. This prohibits Japan from maintaining land, sea or air forces, which sits a little awkwardly with the SDF’s 250,000-odd servicemen, 1,600 aircraft and a fleet boasting four large helicopter-carriers.
