Japan promotes a reform of its constitution that divides public opinion

Half of the Japanese consulted in a survey published today were in favor of reforming the pacifist article of the Japanese Constitutionwhich shows that society continues to be divided on the review promoted by the ruling party.

50% of the 3,000 Japanese consulted by the Japanese agency Kyodo were in favor of revising article 9 of the national Constitution, according to which the country renounces war as a sovereign right and the use of force to resolve international disputes.

48% were against a possible amendment, which is one of the political priorities of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida with the aim of expand national powers in defense matters.

The figures are very similar to those of a consultation carried out last year on these same dates – on the occasion of the Memorial Day of the Constitution, which is celebrated this Tuesday -, which they showed 51% support and 48% rejection.

Calls from the PLD to review the national Constitution have recently intensified in the wake of China’s military rise, of the continuous North Korea’s weapons challenges and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

This same Sunday, Kishida pointed out in an interview broadcast by the state network NHK that the Constitution “may have shortcomings and outdated elements, after being in force for 75 years”and expressed his hope that there will be “progress in the discussions” for his review.

The PLD considers necessary a “clarification” of the renunciation of war established in article 9, as well as of the powers of the Self-Defense Forces, as the Japanese troops are called, since The national Magna Carta expressly prohibits the country from having its own Army.

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The Japanese legal framework was passed during the US occupation of Japan after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, entered into force in 1947 and has not been revised since then.

To carry out a constitutional reform the support of two thirds in both chambers of the Japanese Parliament is necessary – a proportion that the ruling party alone would not reach – followed by its ratification through a national referendum.