TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Kishida vows to seek swift proposal of Constitution reform
His Liberal Democratic Party, together with other pro-constitutional amendment forces, retained the two-thirds majority in the House of Councillors needed to propose an amendment to the supreme law.
Change Size
Japan`s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 10, 2022. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
P
rime Minster Fumio Kishida said Monday he will push forward efforts toward proposing the revision of Japan's US-drafted pacifist Constitution as soon as possible, a day after his party won a sweeping victory in the upper house election.
His Liberal Democratic Party, together with other pro-constitutional amendment forces, retained the two-thirds majority in the House of Councillors needed to propose an amendment to the supreme law.
"I would like to push forward efforts that would lead to the proposal as soon as possible," Kishida said in a press conference in Tokyo, adding it will help serve as an occasion for the people to deepen their understanding of the topic.
The LDP has long called for revising the 1947 Constitution, including making explicit reference to the Self-Defense Forces to end debate on their constitutionality.
In the same press conference, Kishida also vowed to build on the legacy of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who pursued the constitutional change along with trying to resolve the issue of abductions Japanese nationals by North Korea in 1970s and 1980s.
The hawkish former prime minister, known for actively engaging in summit diplomacy, died Friday after being shot by a man while giving a campaign speech in the western city of Nara ahead of the upper house election.
Kishida also reiterated he is seeking to "drastically bolster" Japan's defense within five years by deepening debate on Japan's security strategy within this year.
