Japan Press Weekly

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2014 April 2 - 8 [POLITICS]

What is Abe’s advisory panel on security?

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo when responding to questions in the Diet often mentions the discussions held in his advisory panel. Based on a report the panel will submit, he intends to give a new interpretation to the Japanese Constitution so that Japan can use the right to collective self-defense. What on earth is this panel?

Its official name is the Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security established in February last year by Abe himself as his private consultative body.

Unlike other advisory councils created through official channels, private ones are places where attendees simply express and exchange opinions. Reports of the latter have no legal binding power.

Abe selected who were to be private advisors to himself. Only those who take a positive stance toward Japan’s exercise of the right to collective self-defense are on the panel, standing out as Abe’s extremely tendentious choices. In fact, nobody has argued against the authorization of Japan’s use of the right to collective self-defense since the launch of the panel.

Yamazaki Toru of the Japan Lawyers Association for Freedom said, “All they discuss in the panel is how to go about persuading the general public to accept the country’s use of the right to collective self-defense.”

The lawyer added, “To justify any Cabinet decision to accept proposals made by such an advisory panel as if the proposals are based on the opinion of ‘experts’ is nothing short of a sleight of hand trick.”

Past related article:
>Abe’s security panel moves toward weakening Constitution [February 10, 2013]