Abe Facing Tough Road ahead for Constitutional Revisions

September 21, 2018

Tokyo- Winning a third consecutive three-year term as president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now ready to boost efforts to revise the nation's Constitution, his long-held ambition, during his term of office through September 2021.

Abe aims to spark discussions on constitutional amendments by presenting the LDP's proposal to an extraordinary Diet session to be convened in the autumn.

But he is expected to face a bumpy road ahead.

A tight schedule is one obstacle for him. A series of major events are scheduled in Japan next year, including Emperor Akihito's abdication and the House of Councillors election.

In May last year, Abe said he aims to put a revised supreme law into effect in 2020, instructing the LDP's Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision of the Constitution to compile amendment ideas.

In March this year, the task force unveiled a draft proposal featuring a plan to add a new provision to war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution to clarify the rationale for the existence of the Self-Defense Forces.

But parliamentary discussions on the issue stalled due to a series of scandals involving the Abe administration, including favoritism allegations.

During the LDP presidential campaign, Abe repeatedly called for putting an end to the controversy over the constitutionality of the SDF.

"From now, I'd like to work on revising the Constitution with all of you," Abe said in his speech after the party election.

But former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, Abe's sole contender in the party leadership race, told reporters that the ruling party should take time to explain where and how to change the top law to the public instead of setting a revision schedule in advance.

The current Constitution stipulates that a national referendum should be held within 60 to 180 days after a constitutional amendment proposal is adopted by both chambers of the Diet.

It is necessary for any change in the Constitution to be discussed in a quiet environment, pundits note.

However, unified local elections and the abdication of the Emperors are scheduled to come in April, Crown Prince Naruhito's succession to the Imperial throne in May, the Upper House election in summer and a consumption tax hike in October.

In addition, priority will be given to parliamentary discussions until March next year on the government's budget for fiscal 2019 from next April.

The situation would become further unfavorable for Abe, if the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito as well as pro-constitutional revision opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) fare poorly in the Upper House contest.

The prime minister hopes to win wide support for promoting discussions on the issue, including opposition parties.

But, Yukio Edano, leader of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, angrily told reporters Thursday that Abe is making a plaything of the Constitution as he calls for promoting amendment discussions without explaining why he wants to revise it and for what purposes.

Even Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Komeito, distances himself from Abe as far as an amendment to the pacifist supreme law is concerned.

"The constitutional revision issue has not been given high priority in various public opinion polls," he told a news conference on Wednesday. Jiji Press