Half in Japan Supports Constitutional Revision: Jiji Poll

Tokyo, May 21 (Jiji Press)–Over half of respondents in Japan believe that constitutional revision is necessary, a Jiji Press opinion poll for May has shown. In the survey, 50.3 pct said revision is needed, while 25.6 pct gave the opposite answer, and 24.1 pct were unsure. Among those who said constitutional revision is necessary, the largest share, 48 pct, said that recognizing the Self-Defense Forces under Article 9 should be the top priority. This was followed by 23.9 pct who selected the creation of an emergency clause to extend parliament members’ terms in the event of large-scale disasters or similar situations and 6.1 pct who supported demergers of the combined electoral districts of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet. Meanwhile, 13.9 pct said their answer is not among the options, and 8.1 pct said they did not know. Of the 12 political parties covered by the survey, seven had more party supporters who favor constitutional amendment than those opposing it. The seven are the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party in the ruling camp, as well as the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito, Komeito, Team Mirai and the Conservative Party of Japan in the opposition side. In contrast, the remaining five parties–the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Social Democratic Party–had more supporters who viewed revision as unnecessary. Within the LDP, a growing number of members are calling for prioritizing the demergers of the combined Upper House districts over the recognition of the SDF in the Constitution in an effort to gain opposition support. Still, 56.5 pct of the party’s supporters believe that referring to the SDF in Article 9 should be prioritized, while 19.6 pct support adding the emergency provision, and 6.2 pct favor the constituency demergers. The survey, conducted over the four days through Monday, covered 2,000 people aged 18 or older nationwide. Valid responses came from 58.6 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]