On Abe’s dangerous move towards constitutional revision: JCP Shii on Constitutional Day

   On May 3, the day marking the 60th anniversary of the Constitution, rallies and demonstrations took place across the country calling for the defense of Article 9 and for scrapping the bill to establish procedures for constitutional revision.

   In an assembly held in Tokyo that 6,000 people took part in, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo delivered the following speech:

Abe’s rush for constitutional revision increasing contradictions

   Having declared that he will carry out a constitutional revision during his term of office, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is rushing to implement an adverse revision of the Constitution and, for this reason, he is trying to push through the bill to establish procedures for constitutional revision in the current session of the Diet.

   On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Constitution, let me, first of all, express my determination to join forces with you and make the utmost effort to block this outrageous move to destroy peace, and defend and make use of the Constitution.

   The danger is grave, but I want to draw your attention to the fact that the more the Abe Cabinet reveals its reactionary nature concerning constitutional issues, the more it creates the conditions that could be used to advance the struggles in opposition to an adverse revision of the Constitution.

‘Waging wars side by side with the U.S.’ -- Abe has made clear his aim of constitutional revision

   Firstly, with his words and deeds, Prime Minister Abe has made clear “why now” and “for whom” he wants to change the Constitution.

   Former Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro deliberately evaded this key question. I asked him many times in the Diet, but he always said, “The only objective of constitutional revision is to constitutionalize the Self-Defense Forces that actually exist. I have never thought of fighting wars abroad.” This is how he tried to deceive the public.

   In contrast, Mr. Abe is far more candid than Mr. Koizumi. Mr. Abe has repeatedly said, “Japan cannot use force in conflicts abroad side by side with the United States without amending its Constitution.”

   The prime minister is very fond of repeatedly using the phrase, “fighting side by side with the U.S.” Japan, however, cannot do this without revising the Constitution. The prime minister, in effect, has declared that the constitutional revision he is seeking aims at turning Japan into a nation waging wars side by side with the United States.

   At the same time, Prime Minister Abe is pushing ahead with the scheme to enable Japan to fight wars abroad even ahead of the constitutional revision by changing the established interpretations of the Constitution.

   “I think, under the current Constitution, the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq should be allowed to respond when the other armed forces which the SDF is working with come under attack,” he said.

   On the prime minister’s initiative, an advisory panel to study the collective self-defense has been established. Members of this panel are well-known advocates of using the right of collective self-defense. We must not allow the prime minister to open the way for exercising the right of collective self-defense using this advisory panel as the instrument.

   Former Prime Minister Koizumi sent the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq by enacting the Special Measures Law. However, he acknowledged that many restrictions were imposed on the SDF activities, stating, “The SDF can not go to combat zones and can not use force.”

   Prime Minister Abe wants to lift these restrictions by changing the constitutional interpretations, thereby allowing Japan not only to dispatch the SDF abroad but also to take part in wars. The SDF has not fired a single bullet, but the prime minister wants them to be able to fire.

   Besides, by revising the Constitution, he wants to turn Japan into a nation that can wage wars side by side with the U.S. This two-step approach is Prime Minister Abe’s plan to destroy the Article 9.

   “Side by side” sounds as if Japan can enjoy equal rights with the U.S. But this is a scenario written by the U.S., specifically by former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. And, the war this scenario is envisaging is a preemptive war like the war on Iraq.

   Submitting to U.S. demands and selling out Article 9 in order to participate in lawless wars -- this is the worst kind of unpatriotic policy.

Pro-Yasukuni group justifying WWI is the driving force behind constitutional revision

   Secondly, unique to the Abe Cabinet, the Yasukuni advocates who justify Japan’s war of aggression are at the center of the forces calling for constitutional revision.

   Take a look at the Abe Cabinet members. Out of 18 cabinet members, the prime minister himself and 14 other members are taking part in the parliamentary groups of the Japan Conference (Nippon Kaigi), the leading pro-Yasukuni rightist organization calling for constitutional revision.

   The Japan Conference was founded in 1997 with a call for “the reconstruction of beautiful Japan.” At the fifth anniversary meeting in 2002, this organization adopted a resolution calling for an early constitutional revision, the total revision of the Fundamental Law of Education, regular visits by prime ministers to Yasukuni Shrine, and fostering a sense of morality in the general public.

Abe’s ‘Beautiful country’ and ‘breakaway from postwar regime’ ? longing for prewar system

   The origin of Prime Minister Abe’s call for “a beautiful country” lies in the Japan Conference’s 10-year call for “the reconstruction of the beautiful country.” They obviously want to “reconstruct” the system that used to exist.

   The prime minister’s call for a “breakaway from the postwar regime” could mean a breakaway from the postwar peaceful and democratic system established by the Constitution, thus going back to the prewar militaristic system that waged the war of aggression.

   This is nothing but a scheme to reconstruct a militaristic and authoritarian state, “a fearful country.” Their scheme now reveals its true colors.

   In the Diet, Prime Minister Abe in reply to our questions said he will stand by the Murayama Statement and the Kono Statement. However, his remark that no evidence has been found to prove that the military coerced women into sex slavery has provoked severe criticism worldwide.

   The prime minister expressed his “apology” to U.S. President George Bush, but this does not solve the problem. If he wants to express apology, he must express it to the former “comfort women.” If he really is to apologize, he must retract his absurd statements that the military did not force women into sex slavery.

   The forces who have never seriously reflected on Japan’s war of aggression and militarism want to revise the Constitution and wage wars abroad. This is indeed fearful.

   I strongly believe that such a scheme is unacceptable to the majority of the Japanese people as well as peoples in Asia and rest of the world.

Control over people’s minds - ‘morality’ that pro-Yasukuni force seeking to impose

   Thirdly, in order to build a Japan that wages wars abroad, they need to create more people who will willingly support such a system. They need to control people’s minds. This is why the Abe Cabinet pushed through the adverse revision of the Fundamental Law of Education and is now eager to implement it.

   The media is also warning of this move. Pointing to the revised Fundamental Law of Education calling for fostering patriotism, strengthened state involvement, and upgrading moral education to a regular subject, Tokyo Shimbun on May 2 pointed out that the Abe Cabinet has made clear its policy that state power be allowed to step into the inner world of emotions.

   What kind of “morality” does the pro-Yasukuni force seek to impose on the public? The Japan Conference in its platform states as follows:

   “An education that attaches too much importance to rights, a masochistic history education that insultingly condemns Japan’s history, and the widespread gender-free education are paralyzing the fresh sensitivity of children who will lead the next generation and deprive them of their pride in and sense of responsibility towards the country.”

   The Japan Conference goes on to state that it is necessary to “foster the spirit to love and serve country.”

   In other words, they denounce people who advocate human rights, who sincerely face up to Japan’s war of aggression and colonial rule, and who advocate the equality of men and women.

   A person who has headed the “Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform” even takes a hostile view of co-education. “Boys have become daunted and feckless because co-education has lasted too long. I think that gender-segregated education will make boys manly and girls will become more feminine,” he said.

   With respect to co-education, the Fundamental Law of Education before being adversely revised stipulated, “Men and women shall esteem and cooperate with each other. Co-education, therefore, shall be recognized in education.”

   It was no accident that in the revised Fundamental Law of Education the government deleted this part entirely. This was also caused by the pro-Yasukuni force’s influence.

   Denial of the preciousness of human rights, of the reflection on the war of aggression, and of gender equality: these are the kinds of “morality” that the pro-Yasukuni force is seeking to impose on the public.

   Let us decisively break down this attempt to step into the inner world of emotions and to change people in order to enable Japan to fight wars abroad.

Grassroots struggles influence public opinion

   We should not underestimate the danger behind the Abe Cabinet rush for constitutional revision. This move, however, is dramatically widening the gap between the cabinet and the public and the gap between the cabinet and the world.

   Therefore, I firmly believe that if we make the danger of constitutional revision widely known to the public, the overwhelming majority of the public will oppose constitutional revision.

   According to a recent opinion survey conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun, opposition to the revision of Article 9 reached 56 percent, an increase for two consecutive years. People’s struggles at the grassroots level, such as by the Article 9 Associations, are influencing the public opinion.

   Let us join hands to build an unshakable majority in opposition to constitutional revision while increasing the struggles to scrap the bill to establish procedures for constitutional revision.               - Akahata, May 4, 2007