Japan Press Weekly

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2017 April 26 - May 9 [POLITICS]

80% in NHK opinion poll: Article 9 contributes to Japan’s peace

It has come to light that more than 80% of the respondents in an NHK opinion poll feel that Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution has contributed to Japan’s peace and security.

With May 3 marking the 70th anniversary of the Japanese Constitution, media outlets published their results of opinion polls. These results indicate that a large majority of the general public highly evaluate the war-renouncing Article 9.

NHK on April 29 released results of an interview survey on the Constitution. This is the first face-to-face interview survey by the public broadcaster in 15 years. The survey results show that the percentage of those who answered that Article 9 contributed to Japan’s security totaled 83%, exceeding the 80% mark for the first time ever. The poll also indicates that 57% of the respondents were opposed to any change to the pacifist clause.

A Kyodo News opinion poll found that 75% of the respondents cited Article 9 as one of the reasons why Japan has not used its forces abroad since the end of WWII. The news agency commented that Japanese people are aware of the important role that Article 9 has played in the postwar period.

Asahi Shimbun on May 2 released the results of its opinion poll. It indicates that 89% of the respondents regarded the current Constitution as beneficial to Japan and that 63% were against an amendment to Article 9 while 29% were in favor.

The same survey found that 62% of the respondents do not think that a constitutional revision is a priority in national politics. Regarding the introduction of free education which the pro-revision force is trying to use as a pretext for amending the Constitution, a majority of the respondents said that the introduction should be achieved without revising the supreme law.