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Japan PM seeks constitutional change with opposition aid

Sunday, 10 January 2016 9:09 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 11 January 2016 4:14 AM ]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (AP photo)

The Japanese premier has announced plans to revise the country’s constitution after getting a two-thirds majority at an upper house election later this year.

Shinzo Abe said on Sunday that he aims to revise the pacifist constitution, but in order to do so he has to get a two-thirds majority from his ruling bloc and like-minded opposition parties.

Formal revision in Japan’s constitution should be approved by two-thirds of members of both houses of parliament and a majority in a referendum.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, enjoy a two-thirds majority in the lower house, but in the upper chamber, they only have a simple majority.

"It will be very difficult for the ruling bloc alone to win a two-thirds majority," Abe said, adding, "Besides the LDP and Komeito, I aim to form a two-thirds majority with those positive and responsible people who are thinking of a constitutional revision."

According to Abe, "Osaka Ishin No Kai", or the Osaka Innovation Party, could be one of the possible partners that support the revision.

The supporters of the current constitution argue that it is the source of peace, prosperity and democracy in the Southeast Asian country. The current charter, in place since the Second World War, stresses non-intervention in foreign military conflicts.

However, those who back the prime minister describe the charter as a careless document aimed at keeping Japan forever passive.

Based on a change proposed by the LDP, Tokyo has the right to maintain an army and deploy it at home and abroad.

Premier Abe and supporters claim that the change is necessary to deal with a shifting security environment and threats posed by regional countries that are expanding their military and nuclear capabilities.

Opponents, however, say the legislation threatens Japan’s pacifist image and that the revisions will change its 1945 constitution, which prohibits Tokyo from combat except in self-defense. They also say the change allows the country to join wars waged by the US and its allies.

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