LDP members urge party panel not to rush discussions on Constitutional revisions

March 21, 2018

Tokyo- Members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party called for not rushing discussions on constitutional amendments at a meeting on Tuesday.

Such request comes as the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been under fire for a Moritomo Gakuen favoritism scandal.

The LDP's Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision of the Constitution initially planned to summarize opinions by Sunday, when a party convention will be held. But the panel now intends to cancel the plan and merely explain progress in its discussions at the convention.

When Hiroyuki Hosoda, who heads the panel, reported to a meeting of the party's General Council about the discussion situation, former administrative reform minister Seiichiro Murakami, who is critical of Abe, said there should be sufficient time to discuss points over which opinions are divided.

Ryosei Akagawa, who supports former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, claimed that the party should not author a rough-and-ready proposal.

Another attendee said the most important thing to do now is restore public trust in politics, in the wake of a sharp drop in the approval rating for the Abe cabinet.

There are concern among LDP members that if the party rushes to summarize divided opinions on revisions to pacifist Article 9 of the Constitution amid declining support for the Abe administration, negotiations with its coalition ally, Komeito, and opposition parties may become difficult, pundits pointed out.

The panel will hold a meeting on revisions to Article 9 on Thursday. Its leadership will follow a proposal by Abe to give rationale behind holding the Self-Defense Forces while maintaining the existing war-renouncing clauses.

But Ishiba and members of his group demand the removal of the clauses for constitutional consistency with the country having national defense forces.

At the LDP council meeting, Hosoda also presented a proposal to establish clauses to concentrate powers to the government if the country's parliament is paralyzed by a disaster. Jiji Press