Japan is in the throws of a regime change of its own, and one of the targets of reform is its Constitution.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a major step Friday toward achieving his ultimate goal of revising the Constitution, as the bill to establish procedures for a national referendum to amend the supreme code cleared the Lower House.

Abe has repeatedly stressed that revising the Constitution, which was drafted during the Allied Occupation, is one of his priorities.

“Sixty years have passed since the enactment of the Constitution,” Abe said in his first speech of the year on Jan. 4. “Now is the time to clarify (the Liberal Democratic Party’s) intention to create a new Constitution for a new era.”

There are a lot of ideas the new Prime Minister has tossed in the mix, but the most contentious change would be to Japan’s official pacifism.

One of the major targets in the LDP’s revision draft is the war-renouncing Article 9, which would be rewritten to officially allow Japan to possess a military for defense, thus reflecting the current reality that it does.

The draft retains Article 9′s Clause 1, which states that the nation renounces war as a means of settling international disputes, but deletes Clause 2, which prohibits Japan from possessing a military, since that is exactly what the Self-Defense Forces are, if not by name.

[Ryukoku University constitutional law expert Hideki] Mori said this fundamental change would officially enable the current military to operate overseas.

Anyone who’s spent time in Japan can tell the issue is a big deal. The Japanese rarely bring up anything controversial with foreigners, and I’ve had several members of the MSDF bring the issue up over beers. My answer is always the same. I think it would be good for Japan to be able to return to the world stage and assist in the War on Terror, protecting the freedom of the seas and become a more flexible counterweight to Chinese ambitions. But in the end, Japan should be run however the Japanese see fit. And if that means Japan officially remains pacifist, then so be it.

Based on the most recent polling data, the question at this point seems mostly rhetorical.

Few adults in Japan believe the controversial Article 9 should not be amended, according to a poll by Kyodo News. Only 26 per cent of respondents believe this specific section of the Japanese Constitution should be revised.

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2007 and is filed under Defense Policy, Foreign Policy, Japan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.