Japan Press Weekly

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2014 June 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

Majority in media polls oppose Abe’s attempt to enable Japan to use collective self-defense right

Opinion poll results released by major dailies on June 23 showed that the majority of the public oppose Abe’s attempt to lift the ban on Japan’s use of the collective self-defense right and that the Abe Cabinet rushing into implementing the move has resulted in a lower approval rating.

In an opinion poll by the Asahi Shimbun, 56% said “No” to the government move to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense while 28% said “Yes.” In this poll, the approval rating for the Abe Cabinet dropped to 43% by 6 percentage points from the previous poll in May.

A Kyodo News survey indicated that the majority of respondents, or 55.4%, objected to the government move. In addition, 62.1% expressed their concern that once Japan’s exercise of that controversial right is approved, the scope of the use of force will be expanded limitlessly. The survey gave the Abe Cabinet a supporting rate of 52.1%, down by 2.6 percentage points from the previous survey.

Commenting on the opinion poll results, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki on the same day at a press conference said, “The rapidly mounting public opposition represents public opinion being directed to valuing Article 9 of the Constitution and protecting peace and democracy.”

Yamashita reported about a pro-constitutional rally held on the previous day with more than 1,000 young people participating and that a demonstration after the rally attracted many people of the same age on the streets to join it. He added that strong protest actions have been spreading among people in various strata, including the younger generations who may be sent to wars abroad if Japan begins to use the collective self-defense right.

The JCP spokesperson pointed out, “Opening the door for Japan to exercise the right through negotiations only among the ruling parties ignores public opinion and the Constitution itself.” He demanded that the Abe Cabinet give up the attempt.