Politics Conservative constitutional revisionists face still headwind

[thomas]

Encouraging news, for a change:

Utsukushii Nippon no Kenpou wo Tsukuru Kokumin no Kai (美しい日本の憲法をつくる国民の会), a group established by Nippon Kaigi, an ultraconservative organization aiming to change Japan's pacifist Constitution, has expressed doubts about its ability to achieve this goal. As the number of lawmakers who support constitutional revision has been declining, it is getting harder to gather enough support to propose amendments to the Diet. The group's statement calls for renewed discussions in the Diet's constitutional committees to revive the momentum for constitutional revision.

No thanks; Abe's agenda will eventually be off the table.

The number of pro-constitutional revision members in the Lower House is now below 310, or two-thirds, which is required to propose an amendment to the Constitution. The organization adopted a statement on Nov. 24, calling for a resumption of discussions at the Commissions on the Constitution of the Diet. The head of the commission in the Lower House is currently a lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which made significant gains in the election. The post had previously been held by an LDP lawmaker. "We will pull together with parties that are in favor of amending the Constitution and do our best to make even a step forward," Itsunori Onodera, who chairs the LDP's Policy Research Council, said at the meeting. Sayaka Sasaki, an Upper House member of Komeito, Yuichiro Wada, a Lower House member of Nippon Ishin, and Takanori Kawai, an Upper House member of the Democratic Party for the People, also attended the meeting.

Group pushing constitutional change feels pain of election losses | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Last May, 27% of respondents to a Mainichi Shimbun survey said they were in favour of revising Japan's Constitution during Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's tenure, far less than the 52% against the move.

Nearly 60% of respondents who back the LDP were in favor of amending the Constitution and about 20% opposed it, while only a little under 20% of respondents supporting the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito were for revision and just under 40% were against. Even among supporters of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), which is actively pushing for constitutional reform, the levels of "for" and "against" were close. Among supporters of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), approximately 70% were against revision. Among respondents with no party affiliation, just under 20% were in favor, while a little under 60% were opposed.

27% in Japan in favor of constitutional revision, 52% against: Mainichi poll - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- Some 27% of respondents to a recent Mainichi Shimbun survey said they were in favor of revising Japan's Constitution during Prime Minister Fu

mainichi.jp

More on Utsukushii Nippon no Kenpou wo Tsukuru Kokumin no Kai (美しい日本の憲法をつくる国民の会) here:

Utsukushii Nippon no Kenpō o Tsukuru Kokumin no Kai | Constitutional Revision

Utsukushii Nippon no Kenpō o Tsukuru Kokumin no

www.crjapan.org

 

[Lothor]

So we've got a reprieve for the moment. There's a depressing worldwide trend of centrist politicians, who are inevitably wealthy, out of touch and quite legitimately loathed by a left-behind population, being ousted by populist parties with some really despicable people in charge (here's looking at you, America, with a nod to a future France and UK), and I fear that the same thing could easily happen in Japan in a few years.