Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2013 March 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

Revise Article 9 for UN military action: PM Abe on TV

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on March 9 on a satellite broadcast TV program said that he thinks it is necessary for Japan to revise the military-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution in order to take part in UN-authorized military action.

By insisting on Japan’s participation in UN collective security operations, he once again showed the intent that relaxing the requirement written in Article 96 of the Constitution is ultimately aimed at the removal of Article 9.

Article 96 currently requires a two-third Diet endorsement on constitutional revision, and Abe has repeatedly called for decreasing this to a simple majority.

In a draft constitution of the Liberal Democratic Party, Paragraph 2 of Article 9 prohibiting possession of war potential is deleted and instead the creation of a national armed force is inserted. The LDP draft defines “international” coordinated actions as a mission of the national armed force and drops the word “UN” mandate.

The draft is to enable Japan to support U.S. unilateral actions as seen in the Iraq War where the United States breached the UN Charter-based peace order. Ultimately, the LDP is seeking to build a structure that will enable Japan to go to war abroad with the United States.

* * *

The move towards revising Article 96 which institutes procedures for constitutional revision has become active.

The League of Parliamentarians for Revision of Article 96 in which Prime Minister Abe serves as an advisor decided on March 7 to resume its activities by the end of this month. The league consists of lawmakers not only from the LDP but also from the Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Restoration Party, and the Your Party.

Meanwhile on the same day, a preparatory meeting for launching a research group on Article 96 took place.

Another major conservative group of parliamentarians led by Abe also held a general meeting on March 5 and added constitutional revision to its new action program. Six members from this group have been handed ministerial positions in the Abe Cabinet. The prime minister, who is obligated to respect and defend the Japanese Constitution, is actually heading the anti-constitutional force.