Japan Press Weekly

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2021 April 28 - May 11 [POLITICS]

JCP Secretariat Head issues statement on occasion of Constitution Day

Japan on May 3 celebrated the 74th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution while the state of emergency has been applied to four prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 spread.

At many locations throughout Japan as well as near the Diet building in Tokyo, various commemorative events took place calling for policies to protect and make full use of the Constitution.

On the occasion of Constitution Memorial Day, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira (Upper House) released a statement demanding that the government abide by the Constitution's Article 13 guaranteeing the right to pursue happiness, Article 25 guaranteeing the right to life, and Article 29 guaranteeing the right to own property in order to fulfill the responsibility of the government to protect the lives and livelihoods of people during the pandemic.

Five years have passed since the enactment of the unconstitutional national security-related legislation, the so-called "war laws". Koike in his statement pointed out that the dangerous nature of the war legislation is becoming increasingly clear as shown in a joint document Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and U.S. President Joe Biden released after the summit meeting in which they underscored "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" in the context of "the further strengthening of the bilateral alliance”.

Koike said that the Japanese government admits to the possibility of some form of cooperation based on the war laws in the event of a military confrontation involving the United States in the Taiwan Strait. He pointed out that it will be very dangerous if a military contingency occurs between the U.S. and China because Japan's Self-Defense Forces may be drawn into combat, adding that it has become all the more necessary to abolish the war laws and restore constitutionalism.

Koike referred to the recent court ruling that allowing only same-sex marriage is a violation of "equality under the law" stipulated in the Constitution. He also touched upon the increasing nationwide movement calling for amendments to the Penal Code in order to eliminate sexual violence. He said that Japan's society is finally changing, with the move aspiring for gender equality. He said that the JCP will continue to work to realize a selective dual-surname system, revise the Penal Code so that sex without consent will be criminalized, and establish a gender-equal society in accordance with constitutional principles.

Koike expressed his determination to work to replace the current government in the upcoming general election in cooperation with other opposition parties and concerned citizens and to form a coalition government consisting of the current opposition parties to establish a peaceful and just Japan in line with the spirit of the Constitution.

Past related articles:
> Constitution requires gov’t to compensate for loss of earnings due to COVID-19 spread [May 10, 2020]
> Pro-Constitution activists criticize PM Abe’s use of coronavirus crisis for constitutional revision [May 4, 2020]
> Koike on Constitution Day calls on gov’t to respect constitutional principles in its fight against COVID-19 [May 3, 2020]