Japan Ruling Bloc Proposes Constitutional Amendment Drafting Panel

Tokyo, April 9 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties on Thursday proposed establishing a constitutional amendment drafting committee soon within the Commission on the Constitution in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament. At the first debate of the commission in the ongoing Diet session, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as well as five opposition parties, presented their positions on how to proceed with deliberations. The plan to introduce an article on national emergencies “has reached a stage to hammer out a draft at long last,” Yoshitaka Shindo of the LDP said. The party has long discussed creating the article. For themes whose points of discussion have been defined, including proposals to explicitly refer to the Self-Defense Forces in Article 9, “We propose to move subsequently to a step examining draft article clauses,” he said. Shindo called for the commission to meet weekly in order to accelerate the deliberations. Nobuyuki Baba, former leader of the JIP, said, “The legislature’s role is not to let circular debate drag on endlessly.” “It is to promptly establish a drafting committee, initiate a proposal and let the public decide,” he emphasized. The ruling camp’s position drew support from some opposition parties. Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, said, “It is vital to begin drafting article clauses.” Masamune Wada, Sanseito’s Diet affairs chief, said the party advocates drafting a new constitution but would actively engage in discussions on constitutional revision. Aoi Furukawa, policy chief of Team Mirai, said her party is open to reassessing the Constitution in response to changing times. Meanwhile, the Centrist Reform Alliance took the position that the Diet should not rush the debate. “We should steadily deepen substantive debate in a calm environment,” Toru Kunishige of the CRA said, while also warning that allowing the debate to stagnate would be undesirable. Kimie Hatano of the Japanese Communist Party said, “Creating a drafting committee is imposing constitutional revision on the public.” The LDP and JIP stipulated in their coalition accord that they will submit a draft constitutional amendment to the Diet within fiscal 2026 to introduce an article on national emergencies. In the Feb. 8 Lower House election, the ruling bloc secured well over the two-thirds supermajority that is required to initiate a constitutional amendment proposal. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]