Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2023 March 22 - 28 [POLITICS]

'Ishin' party is even more right-wing than Kishida gov't

In the runup to the upcoming nationwide local elections, the "Nippon Ishin no Kai" party is appealing to voters that it will cut into the Liberal Democratic Party dominance of politics as if it would actually "confront" the ruling LDP. However, the Ishin party is calling for a military buildup even bigger than the LDP, playing a "storm trooper" role in the move to amend the Constitution.

The Kishida government threw away the post-WWII policy of "exclusively defensive defense" by revising the "three key national security documents" in order to go full speed ahead with Japan's possession of counterforce (enemy-strike) capabilities. The Ishin party is endorsing this attempt. On the other hand, Ishin leader Baba Nobuyuki said, "This is still not enough" (a BS news program, Jan.5). Regarding a possible Japan-U.S. "nuclear sharing" agreement, Baba even went so far as to say, "The use of nuclear weapons may be possible as a last resort if an unexpected situation occurs." In fact, during his Diet interpellation on January 26, he demanded the lifting of constitutional restrictions on the use of force which currently specify the "minimum necessary for self-defense".

The Ishin party in its election promise in last year's Upper House election called for the elimination of an upper limit on the military budget. It still insists on implementing a policy of limitless military spending. Ishin party Secretary General Fujita Fumitake at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on January 31 said, "The strengthening of Japan's defense capability needs huge financial resources," and added that there could be no choice but to impose higher taxes on the general public.

In regard to constitutional revision, Baba said, "Our party is ready to take a lead in debates on constitutional amendments in the role of storm trooper" (Lower House Commission on the Constitution, Oct.27, 2022). In the current Diet session, Baba used his interpellation time to press Prime Minister Kishida to propose a motion for amendments to the Constitution by the end of July next year at the latest. Following Baba, Fujita insisted on setting a concrete timeline for a national referendum for constitutional revision based on the national referendum law.

The Ishin party with its more aggressive right-wing position than the Kishida government is fueling the government's runaway policy of turning Japan into "a war-fighting nation".

Past related articles:
> Ishin party much more hawkish than LDP regarding constitutional revision and military buildup [October 31, 2022]
> Shii demands retraction of 'Ishin' party's proposal toward 'nuclear sharing' arrangement [March 3 & 4, 2022]