Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is gunning for support from parties, including Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike’s Kibo no To (Party of Hope), on amending the Constitution
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is gunning for support from parties, including Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike’s Kibo no To (Party of Hope), on amending the Constitution after the Oct. 22 Lower House election.
In an interview Friday, ahead of the start of official campaigning on Tuesday, Abe said his Liberal Democratic Party will seek to cooperate broadly with other parties in proposing a first-ever revision to the 70-year-old Constitution.
“While deepening the debate within our party, we want to cooperate with any other party,” Abe said.
In its election platform, the LDP said it will aim to make any amendment to the Constitution “on the basis of sufficient debate inside and outside the party.”
One issue is the question of adding a specific mention of the status of the Self-Defense Forces. The SDF is currently governed by its own law and is not referenced in the Constitution. The charter’s Article 9 requires Japan to renounce war as well as the maintenance of “war potential.”
On Friday, Kibo no To released its manifesto, calling for debate on proposed constitutional amendments, with Koike saying that Article 9 should be discussed.
Abe said that even if the LDP were to maintain a majority in the Lower House, this would not mean that the public has given it a mandate for its views on revising the Constitution. He said each party’s position will need to be considered in both houses of the Diet.
In May, Abe called for the acceleration of debate on an amendment so that, if approved by citizens in a referendum, it could come into force in 2020.
