Majority Hope Constitutional Revision Debate to Advance: Jiji Poll

Tokyo, Feb. 19 (Jiji Press)–More than half of respondents expect momentum in parliamentary debate over constitutional revision after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide in the House of Representatives election, a February poll by Jiji Press showed Thursday. In the survey, 51.4 pct said they expect progress in Diet deliberations on revising the Constitution. Another 23.1 pct said they do not expect progress, while 25.5 pct said they were unsure. In the Feb. 8 Lower House election, the LDP clinched the two-thirds supermajority required to propose a constitutional amendment–an action that, if taken, would mark the first such proposal in Japan’s history. Parliamentary debate has “ripened considerably,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a press conference on Wednesday, signaling her readiness to move toward an early proposal. Support for progress was strong among backers of the LDP, at 70.4 pct, and among supporters of its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, at 74.1 pct. Among supporters of the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito, both broadly receptive to constitutional revision, 62.5 pct and 62.1 pct, respectively, voiced expectations of progress. By contrast, among supporters of the major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, 30.0 pct said they expect progress, falling below the 45.7 pct who said they do not. The survey was conducted from Friday to Monday through face-to-face interviews with 2,000 adults nationwide. The valid response rate was 55.7 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]