|
Protests as Japan's PM urges new constitution
TOKYO - Japan marked the 60th anniversary of its pacifist constitution on Thursday amid protests and debate about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's renewed call for revision to reflect the nation's growing global influence.
Abe on Thursday reiterated his call to rewrite the US-imposed 1947 constitution in a bid to seek his vision of a more assertive Japan.
The current constitution "needs to be revised as its basic framework can no longer proceed with major changes in the administration system, relations between central and local governments, and foreign and security policies," Abe said in a statement.
Supporters and opponents alike held rallies and meetings nationwide to mark this year's Constitution Day on Thursday, reflecting the divisive nature of the plans of Abe, Japan's first premier born after World War II.
The most contentious issue is Article Nine, which renounces the right to maintain a military or even use of the threat of force as a means of settling international disputes.
Thousands of pacifist activists rallied through the capital to protest against the conservative premier's call for revising the absolute pacifism of the post-war constitution that has remained unchanged over the past 60 years.
"We oppose a revision that makes the constitution worse! We are against policies that make this country involved in US-led wars!" demonstrators chanted in a parade through Ginza shopping district in Tokyo.
"I decided to join the rally because I don't want war. Any changes to Article Nine would pave the way for involvement in wars," Takae Miyaguchi, a 58-year-old nurse, told AFP.
Meanwhile, a group of conservative lawmakers, academics and journalists held a forum in Tokyo to discuss how the constitution should be changed, and proposed a broad outline for a new text stipulating the existence of full-fledged troops, yet with the principle of pacifism.
A new constitution should "stipulate clearly the existence of troops for the purpose of self-defence," their proposal said.
But they also proposed to "firmly maintain the principle of renouncing war as a means of resolving international conflicts -- in other words, renouncing war of aggression."
The current constitution bars Japan from using or even threatening to use force as a way to settle international disputes, although the country skirts the rule by calling its troops "Self-Defence Forces."
Parliament is set to pass legislation on rules for a national referendum on rewriting the constitution -- a move likely to anger Asian neighbors who suffered under Japan's wartime aggression.
But Japan is far from an actual constitutional revision, as such a project would require approval from two-thirds of lawmakers before a draft went to a public referendum.
Latest polls conducted by local media show the majority of Japanese voters feel it is time to revise the pacifist post-war constitution, but still support the pacifism written in Article Nine.
Liberals argue that any revision to Article Nine would take Japan a step closer to engaging in armed conflicts.
Japan, which relies on the US for much of its national security, has been gradually boosting its military might, and in March deployed its first ballistic missile defense system amid growing concern about North Korea.
Japan's most high-profile mission was to send troops to Iraq on a reconstruction mission, although its forces were protected by soldiers from allied nations and returned home last year without firing a single shot.
__________________
|