FOCUS: Japan Lower House Constitution Panel Debates Emergency Clause

Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)–Debate on constitutional revision is intensifying in commissions on the Constitution in both chambers of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, during the ongoing special session. In the House of Representatives, the more powerful lower chamber, lawmakers have been discussing a draft outline, presented in article form, for an emergency clause that would include extending legislators’ terms in the event of a large-scale disaster or similar crisis. Meanwhile, the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, is prioritizing discussions on canceling mergers of prefectural constituencies for Upper House elections. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also serves as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has set a goal of putting the Diet in a position to initiate constitutional revision procedures within one year. Still, it remains unclear whether that target can be achieved. Initiating Amendment Procedures At the LDP convention in April, Takaichi expressed her determination to achieve constitutional revision, a long-standing goal of the party. “I want to greet next year’s party convention with a clear path toward initiating constitutional revision procedures,” she said. In their coalition agreement, the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party said that they would aim to submit draft provisions for an emergency clause to the Diet during fiscal 2026, which runs through March 2027. Following the Lower House election in February, in which the LDP alone secured more than two-thirds of the chamber’s seats, the two parties are prioritizing efforts to advance debate on constitutional revision in the Lower House. At a May 14 meeting of the Lower House Commission on the Constitution, the chamber’s secretariat presented a draft outline of emergency provisions on the basis of previous discussions. The outline defined emergencies as including large-scale natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, disruptions of social order such as civil unrest, and armed attacks from abroad. It also said that, with prior Diet approval, lawmakers’ terms of office could be extended if the cabinet determines that a situation makes holding an election difficult. The outline proposal leaves many issues unresolved, however, including the requirements for a Diet resolution to designate such a situation and the maximum duration of any extension. The Centrist Reform Alliance has emphasized the need for further debate to settle remaining questions. The party also cautioned that “what is being questioned is how to constrain power in order to protect the rights of the people.” Merged Constituencies Meanwhile, in the Upper House Commission on the Constitution, discussions are moving forward on reversing mergers of neighboring prefectural constituencies introduced for the July 2016 Upper House election to help address disparities in the value of votes. The measure was intended to ensure compliance with Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality under the law. In the merged Tottori-Shimane and Tokushima-Kochi constituencies, adverse effects such as declining voter turnout have been reported. If population declines continue, calls may emerge to combine prefectural constituencies that do not share borders. Political parties broadly agree on eliminating the mergers, but they differ over how to proceed. The LDP favors resolving the issue through constitutional revision and has proposed building consensus around this approach. The party is calling for a provision requiring at least one representative to be elected from each prefecture, in an effort to avoid constitutional challenges over vote-value disparities. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan opposes revising the Constitution, while Komeito also supports addressing the matter through law amendments. Upper House Issues For the Diet to propose a constitutional amendment and submit it to a national referendum, the proposal must be approved by at least two-thirds of all members in both parliamentary chambers. In the Upper House, the ruling coalition is four seats short of a majority, forcing it to seek cooperation from opposition parties to pass budgets and legislation. Some LDP members in the chamber are therefore wary that aggressively pursuing constitutional amendments could trigger a backlash from the opposition camp and disrupt parliamentary proceedings. There are also concerns that the proposed emergency clause, currently under discussion in the Lower House, could diminish the significance of the Upper House’s emergency session, which is provided for under Article 54 of the Constitution. The article says that if the Lower House is dissolved for an election, the Upper House is also closed, but that the cabinet may convene an emergency session of the Upper House in the event of a national emergency. Given the differing levels of enthusiasm among LDP members in the two Diet chambers, the prevailing view is that it will be difficult for the constitutional commissions of both chambers to align their discussions. If Prime Minister Takaichi fails to present a clear road map for constitutional amendments, her political influence could suffer as she approaches the end of her term as LDP president in autumn next year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]