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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.Abe says it is hard for now to revise arms-renouncing article of constitution
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DannytheGaijin
A constitution is supposed to be difficult to amend. I'm curious of why he hasn't brought up the referendum aspect--perhaps he knows it would never pass.
edojin
Hey, hey, hey ... Abe's twisting his words again. He wants a big win in the forthcoming election so that he can change the constitution, now he's saying it can't be done. But what is not being said above is, if he does win big in the election he will be free to do as he pleases ... and the key words in the above article are: "but it is parliament that needs to originate a proposal regarding what part of the constitution should be changed,” as stated by Abe. If he controls parliament then they will follow what he orders. Thus he will say ... "See ... the parliament made the change ... not me."
Will the voters fall for this scam? From the way the polls show it, Abe and his Jiminto party cannot fail in the forthcoming election. Are the voters listening closely to all these rosy promises? Sounds as if they are not ...
some14some
People want structural reforms in J.economics not constitution...!
Yubaru
Abe kiss butt to the public to gain the votes he needs for the majority then he will suddenly find a reason to flip back.
Scrote
What Dishonest Abe means is that he cannot change the constitution at the moment, but if the LDP win sufficient seats in a couple of weeks he will try to change it as soon as possible.
Sneaky Abe wants the power to suspend the constitution in a "state of emergency", which will basically mean at any time he feels like it. That will allow him to do anything he wants: draft people into the military, ban free speech, round up and jail opponents of the government etc. Those are the power he desperately wants, but nobody asks him to explain why he should be given them. I believe lying Abe is mentally unstable and not suitable to be prime minister. He should certainly not be allowed any power to change the constitution.
nath
To amend the Constitution it has first be approved by a majority in the lower and upper house and after that by the majority of Japanese. He got the majority in the lower house but not in the upper one.
Will be an interesting election with those new parties formed not too long ago.
Lloyd Weems
There are many reasons he only managed a year in charge last time...
BertieWooster
Can you believe this guy?
All he cares about is votes.
And his ultra right wing super rich "friends"
And his grandfather.
Lloyd, as you say. He is about as stable as a blade of grass in a high wind.
Mentally as well as politically.
nath
Simple question to the elderly voters of Japan:
Do you want your grandchildren's blood spilled on foreign soil or not?
Your vote decides whether or not that will happen.
One would have thought the last war would have taught people to avoid violence. Your grandchildren will pay for your mistakes - don't let Abe have his way.
gokai_wo_maneku
Yes, I agree. He is saying this because most Japanese don't want to change the constitution. He has to delay this until after the election. It is just a politician being political.
Baer DaGuy
Although I personally think Japan should have more military abilities, under Abe it would likely be dangerous.
talaraedokko
Bait and switch. Don't trust!
bjohnson23
RE: "A poll by the Asahi Shimbun daily showed last month that 68% of Japanese wanted to keep Article 9 unchanged.
A formal amendment of the constitution requires approval by two-thirds of both houses of parliament as well as a majority in a referendum. Abe’s ruling bloc along with like-minded allies could get a two-third majority in the upper house as a result of the July election"
Ok isn't the Diet and all the elected politicians voted in and to represent the will of the people as mentioned by the 68%yet seems that the politicians do what "THEY" want and not the will of the people, in this case vote them out.
Loyd Flaherty
"68% of Japanese wanted to keep Article 9 unchanged" and as many of you pointed out election time is near.
Yubaru
And your point is?
Fre Okin
A clever ploy to lull the opposition not to vote so he and his Komeito coalition can get two third majority next month. Then his coalition will table the article 9 revision bill and move forward with the referendum and make those who oppose article 9 revision feel guilty for not agreeing since both houses support revision.
Cunning Abe's scheme to play the guilt card to get people to revise article 9. Japanese must go vote against LDP in July to deny him the two third majority.
nath
Small problem.
Soka Gakkai is a pacifistic religion and is against amending the Constitution. So there will be fewer votes going for the coalition.
You forget even if he gets the 2/3 majority, will he get it in the referendum when 68% of Japanese are against it.
kahless215
Look. If the Japanese Government tried this 20 years ago, I'd say no way in hell! But with everything going on with China and north korea, I have no problem with it today.
Furan
Doesn't really matter if whether he pulls this or not... he will win regardless. Too bad there's no viable alternative.
Disillusioned
Yeah, two weeks before the election he spouts this rhetoric knowing full well that over 50% of the population ate against any changes to the constitution. Yet, two weeks after the election it will be back on the agenda. He's such a weasel!
bruinfan
@ Furan,
He will likely hold the majority of seats, but hopefully by a narrow margin (together with the Komeito alliance).
sandhonour
One word - Liar. He'll do whatever it takes.
smithinjapan
Does he actually believe the Japanese public is that stupid, or are they actually that stupid?
Loyd Flaherty
Ubaru JUN. 25, 2016 - 11:25PM JST
Hi Yubaru, Sorry that my post was too short to understand. I'm not making an additional point. I was voicing agreement with you and so many others on this.
PSandoz
And on that bombshell .... hopefully he'll leave us.
Ram Chaudhary
This world is not as good as Japanese people believe it to be.. Let US led army leave South Korea and Japan and see what happens there.. Your non violent neighbors will take over your land and there would be no army to defend.. Its iperative that you have a strong army, not to fight on foreign soil but to defend yourselves..
zurcronium
Ram,
Right, Japan's military severe the county so well leading up to the WW2. You might want to crack open a history book. Japan has the best situation now possible. Minimal military expenses, at least compared to the USA, and inclusion in the USA nuclear umbrella. It has not needed a military at all for the last 69 plus years.
Tony W.
"A constitution is supposed to be difficult to amend. I'm curious of why he hasn't brought up the referendum aspect--perhaps he knows it would never pass."
But if it is one imposed upon a country by another, never mind the reason, it should be a little easier once 70 years have passed!
OssanAmerica
It is about time that Japan played a constructive role in maintaining the peace and security of he region. PM Abe has done more in this regard that any other J-PM and is fully supported by the United States and just about every country in Asia besides China. Now watch the thumbs down numbers skyrocket.
That can already happen in anti-piracy operations, anti-mining operations and humanitarian and disaster relief operations that the JSDF has been actively carrying out in various parts of the world over the last several years.
toshiko
Japanese custom of double talks. To fool right wing, pretending Article 9 revision. real wish is not wasting money in arming Japan. (nimai Nita)
YuriOtani
It is not a waste of money to fund the SDF. If Donald Trump wins, Japan will be on it's own. Without a defense, we would have to become a dependent state of either China or Russia. As for Abe, he will NEVER get his evil plans through to amend our constitution and remove article #9.