Japan Press Weekly

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2015 December 23 - 2016 January 5 [POLITICS]

Osaka Ishin no Kai is constitutional revisionist Abe’s supplementary party

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on December 19 had a dinner meeting with Hashimoto Toru, the newly-retired mayor of Osaka City, at a Tokyo hotel. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide and Matsui Ichiro, the new head of “Osaka Ishin no Kai”, were also present at the 3.5-hour dinner meeting.

During the dinner meeting, Hashimoto reportedly suggested a scenario for constitutional amendments by winning two-thirds of the seats in the House of Councilors with the Liberal Democratic Party, the Komei Party, and Osaka Ishin no Kai together. It is also reported that both sides agreed to work together to revise the Constitution. (December 20, Nikkei Shimbun)

Abe’s right hand man Suga, in fact, admitted that constitutional reform was a topic of discussion at the dinner table. (December 20, on a commercial TV program)

Hashimoto has been crystal-clear in his stance toward amending the Constitution. He publicly stated that the Abe Cabinet will take the initiative to change the military-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution and that he himself will endeavor to restructure the decision-making process and the governing system of the state. (December 19, at a news conference marking his retirement)

The party platform of Osaka Ishin no Kai also calls for a system to directly elect a prime minister by popular vote and a unicameral parliament in addition to constitutional revision.

Hashimoto is aiming to create a top-down, speedy decision-making setup, in other words, a dictatorship. Actually, he once said, “The most important thing in the Japanese political world is enabling the creation of a dictatorship” (June 29, 2011, fundraising party).

He occasionally meets with Abe. When asked for cooperation in June in establishing the security-related legislation amid mounting public protests against it, Hashimoto began tweeting in favor of the legislation on Twitter.

For Abe, Hashimoto is an important partner to create a new constitution and a player who plays an effective role in dividing the opposition parties.