 LDP asked SDF officer to draft constitutional revision A senior Ground Self-Defense Force officer at former Defense Agency Director Nakatani Gen's request has drafted a plan for revising the Constitution to include provisions that make it legitimate for Japan to possess a military force and exercise the right of collective self-defense. Nakatani who heads an LDP committee for drafting a constitutional revision submitted the GSDF officer's report to the October 22 committee meeting. The GSDF officer's draft was reflected in the LDP's "outline" for constitutional amendments which was compiled last month. At a press conference on December 6, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, "The involvement of the SDF officer in drafting a constitutional revision clearly reveals what kind of constitutional revision the LDP is trying to achieve." Ichida went on to say, "The report clearly shows that the intention of the SDF is to revise Article 9 of the Constitution so that it will be more 'instrumental' to them." He also pointed out the possibility that the GSDF officer has violated the requirement of political neutrality of SDF personnel under the SDF law as well as Article 99 of the Constitution which requires public servants to respect the Constitution. (end) |