Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 29 - May 12 [POLITICS]

Yamashita calls for politics based on constitutional principles

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki on May 3 in his statement on the 68th anniversary of the Japanese Constitution coming into force said that Japan celebrates this anniversary under a situation that is threatening Japan’s postwar framework based on the Constitution.

Yamashita stressed that the Abe government plans to submit to the Diet in May bills related to war legislation with the aim of turning Japan into a country fighting wars abroad by forcing them through the Diet. He criticized Abe’s moves for arrogantly trampling on Article 9 of the Constitution.

The JCP Secretariat Head also noted that Prime Minister Abe Shinzo expressed his intent to propose a revision of the Constitution after the House of Councilors election scheduled for next summer. Refuting the Liberal Democratic Party’s argument that the Constitution needs to be revised because it is far removed from reality, Yamashita said that reality became far removed from the constitutional principles due to the successive LDP governments’ policies.

Yamashita pointed out that the constitution guarantees basic human rights, including the right to life and the right to education. He said that the need now for the Japanese government is to carry out policies that fully comply with the constitutional principles. This will contribute to fulfilling the public demand for better social security programs, more stable jobs, less poverty and economic inequality, and an ecologically sustainable society, he added. Yamashita also stated that Japan should work to make full use of Article 9 in its diplomacy to promote peace in Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world.

Yamashita concluded that on this Constitution Day in the 70th year following the war’s end, the JCP reaffirms the importance of the democratic and progressive principles of the Constitution which reflects deep remorse over and lessons learned from the past war and determines to keep upholding and promoting these principles.

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Recent opinion polls show that the proposed war legislation and the moves for constitutional revision are unpopular among the general public. Even survey results of right-wing media indicate the same trend toward growing opposition.

Sankei Shimbun, which strongly advocates Abe’s hawkish moves, on April 28 made public its opinion poll results, indicating that 49.5% of the respondents are against the enactment of the proposed war legislation in the current session of the Diet while 36.2% are in favor. Regarding constitutional revision, the percentage of opponents stood at 47.8% and the percentage of supporters at 40.8%.