Abe Calls for Promoting Debates on Constitutional Revisions

January 6, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on both the ruling and opposition parties to promote debates on constitutional amendments, in a television program broadcast on Sunday.

Meanwhile, opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, sought to prioritize discussions on amending the national referendum law to regulate television and radio commercials during the periods for referendums on possible constitutional revisions.

The Diet, Japan's parliament, is now asked to hold "full-fledged discussions on how we should shape our country toward the future," Abe said, citing a string of important events ahead, including Emperor Akihito's abdication on April 30 and Crown Prince Naruhito's accession to the throne the following day, the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, western Japan, in June and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"Each party should present its idea" on constitutional revisions, he stressed.

Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party had aimed to submit its constitutional revision proposal to an extraordinary Diet session last year. But the party gave up the plan, in the face of the opposition camp's criticism of a high-handed way of handling related procedures by the Commission on the Constitution of the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of the Diet.

In the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) program, Abe said that there is "no change at all in my hope" to see a revised constitution put into force in 2020.

But he indicated a stance of waiting to see the situation for the time being, saying that the schedule for the effectuation of a possible revised constitution will be decided by the Diet.

In the same TV program, Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Komeito, the coalition partner of the LDP, said, "First, an environment for discussions needs to be prepared," calling on both the ruling and opposition sides to aim for forging a broad agreement through in-depth deliberations.

Yamaguchi thus suggested that the LDP should first make efforts to obtain opposition parties' understanding for constitutional amendments, rather than aiming to present its proposal on revising the supreme law to the Diet.

Yukio Edano, leader of the CDPJ, stressed that holding debates on the national referendum system, mainly on introducing full-scale restrictions on paid advertising during the periods for referendums on constitutional revisions, should be a top priority.

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, said, "Fairness of referendums would be undermined if a political party with abundant funds places ads that are advantageous to its arguments."

Kazuo Shii, chief of the Japanese Communist Party, said, "Prime Minister Abe, who has made light of the constitution, is not qualified to change the top law," underscoring his resolve to put an end to moves for amending the national charter. Jiji Press