Japan Press Weekly

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2012 December 5 - 11 [ELECTION]

Constitutional revision advocates keep silent as election campaign kicks off

Heads of political parties calling for constitutional revision remained silent on this major election issue on December 4, the first day of the House of Representatives general election campaign.

However, those parties clearly state revision of the war-renouncing Constitution in their election platforms. The Liberal Democratic Party calls for establishment of national defense forces by revising Article 9 of the Constitution as well as clarification of Japan’s right to collective self-defense.

As Osaka Mayor Hashimoto Toru has pledged to “change the Constitution which was made during the occupation period into one that matches the needs of Japan,” his party Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) in its election promise also calls for establishment of “Japan’s own constitution” and the adoption of a fundamental law on national security in order to allow the nation to exercise the right of collective defense.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo in his speech on December 4 said that if Article 9 is revised, “Japan will not be able to survive in Asia. We must defend Article 9 which Japan can be proud of in the international community.”