Features National Politics
Ida Torres on May 24 2013
The Liberal Democratic Party has decided to drop the controversial attempt to revise Article 96 of the
Constitution from among its campaign pledges in the upcoming Upper House elections in July. But senior party officials said that they are still going to pursue changing the
process for amending the Constitution.
Counterterrorism efforts are on the rise after the Boston Marathon bombings in April this year, and it reflects on the new proposals that are coming through official channels to the Japanese central government concerning public safety policy. The ruling
Liberal Democratic Party – which is led by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – for example had its investigative committee draft a proposal for this purpose. The resulting draft includes, among others, a proposal to monitor
internet browsing history for counterterrorism purposes.
The Lower House passed a bill that would give adults who are under the guardianship of another adult the right to
vote. The bill, which was unanimously approved, will now be sent to the Upper House for final passing,which is expected to happen this Friday. The upcoming Upper House election in July will be the first one where adult wards will have the right to cast their own ballot.
Japan’s government feels bullish about its constantly improving economy, enough to upgrade its economic assessment in May as signs of growth are visibly stacking up and exports as well as factory output pick up. Last month, the Japanese government – leading the world’s third largest
economy – was still cautious about the improvements that have been showing economically, saying that signs of recovery were there, but the economy still had some weak spots. This month, according to the government’s monthly economic report released on Monday, the government is sure enough to say that the economy is “gradually recovering”.
A survey by a leading Japanese newspaper shows that 52% of the respondents are opposed to the proposed amendment to Article 96 of the
Constitution that would make it easier to make revisions to the rest of the Constitution. This proposal is being
initiated by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Lawmakers from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (
LDP) launched a group on Tuesday that looks to move forward the plans to restart the country’s mothballed nuclear reactors, as they state that a stable power supply is key to achieving economic growth. The LDP acknowledges that there is
strong public opposition to the planned restarts, coming from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant triple-meltdown disaster, but argues that the nation’s economic stability hinges on being able to provide non-fossil fuel-generated power to the Japanese population.
The
New Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is pledging to protect Japan’s post-war Constitution as part of its policies for the Upper House election. The junior member, part of over a decade-long alliance with LDP, is risking an open rift with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s nationalist tendencies in their policy draft which they revealed on Sunday. Despite this known alliance, New Komeito is obviously looking to distance itself from the revisionist policies that the LDP is pushing for the House of Councilors election slated for July.
Sanae Takaichi, the policy chief for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, stated on Sunday that she would continue her visits to the controversial Yasukuni war memorial, even amidst the outcry and protest from China and South Korea. Speaking on a television program on NHK, Takaichi defended the mass visit of
almost 170 active lawmakers, herself included, to the shrine last month, saying that it is a nation's internal affair of how to honor those who gave their lives in service of their country.
Politics
John Hofilena on May 10 2013
The ruling and opposition parties of Japan’s Diet on Thursday started the debate on the sought-after revision of Article 96, the part of the
Constitution which defines the criteria for amending the supreme law of the land, one of the major pushes of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP wants to lower the requirements for passing amendments, and is set to list this down as one of its
priorities in its campaign for the House of Councilors election in July.
Japan's Upper House passed a resolution firing Yoriko Kawaguchi, a senior lawmaker of the ruling coalition Liberal Democratic Party, as head of the Environment Committee of the House of Councillors. Her dismissal came after she had an
unauthorized extension of her recent trip to China, which forced the panel she heads to cancel a scheduled session.
