No. 1308 Dangerous Phase of Constitution Amendment Drive
More than two-thirds of the parliament’s seats are occupied by lawmakers who want to rewrite the Constitution. The Constitution Panel of the House of the Representatives, in particular, commits actively in parliamentary arrangements required to present to the Diet bills for the purpose. The Ishin (=Japan Innovation Party) and the Kokumin (=Democratic Party for the People) have already compiled a draft text for articles. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is preparing for a new, fourth clause to be revised.
THE ISHIN AND THE KOKUMIN PRECEDE LDP ON CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT
The parliament now sees over two-thirds of seats taken by the advocates of altering constitution in both Houses after the elections in 2021 for the House of Representatives and in 2022 for the House of Councilors.
Consequently, the constitution panel of the Lower House, specifically, ignoring the Nakayama method, a tacit agreement accepted by both of ruling and opposition parties in the Diet on management of meetings, holds consultations on a regular basis: the House of Representatives had 24 meetings last year, which is the largest number, and 10 by early May this year. As for the Upper House, it had 12 last year and has four this year. Comparing with the figures of the Lower House with those of the Upper House, they are as twice as many.
The first job – lawmakers’ longer term of service
In order to make a breakthrough in the processes, the LDP, whose primary mission lies in amending the war-renouncing constitution, has taken a series of tactics to come first a plan to ‘extend lawmakers’ term of office’; it is because the step consists of part of the controversial clause on national security emergency. The LDP considers it hard to directly change Article Nine of the constitution, which prohibits a war as a means to settle international conflicts, and to introduce a clause on the said contingency when the Cabinet shall be entrusted with full authority. With regard to these two issues, not only people but also the Diet will not easily approve.
The Ishin and the Kokumin go parallel with the LDP fervently in competition. Their draft text symbolizes the fact, which was agreed upon late March by the two political parties and a group of rightwing legislators on extending legislators’ term of office.
The text defines national emergencies as:
An armed attack,
Internal riots and terrorist acts,
Large-scale natural disasters,
Spread of infectious diseases,
Other incidences similar to those phenomena
The contents are almost identical with that of the LDP.
The LDP welcomes the version, intended to request them more: to reach an agreement on the core issue, which is full authority of the Cabinet to issue government’s orders and to make financial decisions to cope with such contingencies.
Furthermore, the LDP and the Ishin are ready to demand the Diet to discuss the national emergency issue together with the Self Defense Forces (SDF) of Japan; they have prepared bills to insert ‘a clause on national defense’ and to ‘describe the SDF definitely’. These moves undermine Article Nine. A more dangerous phase has emerged.
Power to halt the legislature’s drive
Discrepancies are seen from one political party to another at the moment in terms of requirements to extend lawmakers’ term of office. Delicate differences are also found in the attitudes in both of the Houses between the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), the second-biggest opposition party, and the Komei, a coalition partner. The Komei keeps a dissimilar stance from the LDP on the emergency orders and description of the SDF.
The government, considering impacts on a referendum, cannot easily discount the CDP, which requests to rectify important errors found in the Referendum Act, or overlook the Communist Party and the Social-Democratic Party, which criticize the administration for the policies which violate the constitution.
Meanwhile, in several opinion polls held recently, many are proven to be in favor of constitution amendment in general, but as far as Article Nine and a clause on national contingency are concerned, many still remain against as these passages pose dangers to people. According to a survey conducted by the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper in April, the number of those against amendment during office of the Kishida government exceeded that of those in favor.
Some of the politicians were not elected on the ground to ‘amend the constitution’, and so their basis is not perfectly solid. Power to break through the ambitions of pro-amendment forces lies in movements of many people with organized voices to seek for ‘a society where we can live in peace and humanely’.
国会は、21年の衆院選、22年の参院選で改憲派が両院で３分の２を超える議席を占めた。
その結果、特に衆院憲法審査会では、「合意による運営」の〝中山方式〟も無視、予算審議中でも定例日開催を強行し、衆院は昨年、過去最多の24回、今年は５月上旬までに10回開催。参院の昨年12回、今年４回と比べ２倍の回数だ。
任期延長先行させ
改憲を党是とする自民党は、９条改憲や内閣が全権を握る緊急事態条項の導入が一般国民はもちろん、国会でも合意が困難とみて、緊急事態条項の一部の「国会議員の任期延長」を先行させ、改憲発議の突破口を開く戦術をとってきた。
それに維新と国民民主が競うように同調。その象徴が、３月末に両党と右派の有志の会の３会派で合意した議員任期延長の条文案だ。
その案の緊急事態の定義は、「①武力攻撃、② 内乱・テロ、③大規模自然災害、④感染症の蔓延、⑤これらに匹敵する事態」で、自民党案とほぼ同一。
自民党は歓迎し、この項目での合意を突破口に、内閣の緊急政令制定権・緊急財政処分権という緊急事態条項の「本丸」での合意形成を要求する。
しかも自民や維新は、９条を空文化する「国防条項と自衛隊の明記」と一括で発議する姿勢で、危険水位は刻々と高まっている。
発議を止める力は
現段階では、議員任期延長のいくつかの要件のズレや、立民や公明にも衆参で微妙に異なる態度が見られ、緊急政令や自衛隊明記での公明の異論も残る。
国民投票への影響を考えると、国民投票法の根本的欠陥の是正を主張する立民や、政権の憲法違反の政策を批判している共産、社民も簡単には無視できない。
また世論調査では一般的な「改憲」には賛成が多いが、「９条」や「緊急事態条項」など危険な改憲内容には反対が依然強い。４月の毎日新聞の世論調査では、岸田首相在任中の改憲に「反対」が「賛成」を上回った。
「改憲」で選ばれたのではない改憲派の足場は、決して盤石ではない。「平和で人間らしく生きられる社会」を求める大多数の人びとの願いを大きなうねりにして示すことが、改憲派の野望を打ち砕く最大の力である。
英訳版↓
No. 1308 Dangerous Phase of Constitution Amendment Drive
More than two-thirds of the parliament’s seats are occupied by lawmakers who want to rewrite the Constitution. The Constitution Panel of the House of the Representatives, in particular, commits actively in parliamentary arrangements required to present to the Diet bills for the purpose. The Ishin (=Japan Innovation Party) and the Kokumin (=Democratic Party for the People) have already compiled a draft text for articles. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is preparing for a new, fourth clause to be revised.
THE ISHIN AND THE KOKUMIN PRECEDE LDP ON CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT
The parliament now sees over two-thirds of seats taken by the advocates of altering constitution in both Houses after the elections in 2021 for the House of Representatives and in 2022 for the House of Councilors.
Consequently, the constitution panel of the Lower House, specifically, ignoring the Nakayama method, a tacit agreement accepted by both of ruling and opposition parties in the Diet on management of meetings, holds consultations on a regular basis: the House of Representatives had 24 meetings last year, which is the largest number, and 10 by early May this year. As for the Upper House, it had 12 last year and has four this year. Comparing with the figures of the Lower House with those of the Upper House, they are as twice as many.
The first job – lawmakers’ longer term of service
In order to make a breakthrough in the processes, the LDP, whose primary mission lies in amending the war-renouncing constitution, has taken a series of tactics to come first a plan to ‘extend lawmakers’ term of office’; it is because the step consists of part of the controversial clause on national security emergency. The LDP considers it hard to directly change Article Nine of the constitution, which prohibits a war as a means to settle international conflicts, and to introduce a clause on the said contingency when the Cabinet shall be entrusted with full authority. With regard to these two issues, not only people but also the Diet will not easily approve.
The Ishin and the Kokumin go parallel with the LDP fervently in competition. Their draft text symbolizes the fact, which was agreed upon late March by the two political parties and a group of rightwing legislators on extending legislators’ term of office.
The text defines national emergencies as:
The contents are almost identical with that of the LDP.
The LDP welcomes the version, intended to request them more: to reach an agreement on the core issue, which is full authority of the Cabinet to issue government’s orders and to make financial decisions to cope with such contingencies.
Furthermore, the LDP and the Ishin are ready to demand the Diet to discuss the national emergency issue together with the Self Defense Forces (SDF) of Japan; they have prepared bills to insert ‘a clause on national defense’ and to ‘describe the SDF definitely’. These moves undermine Article Nine. A more dangerous phase has emerged.
Power to halt the legislature’s drive
Discrepancies are seen from one political party to another at the moment in terms of requirements to extend lawmakers’ term of office. Delicate differences are also found in the attitudes in both of the Houses between the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), the second-biggest opposition party, and the Komei, a coalition partner. The Komei keeps a dissimilar stance from the LDP on the emergency orders and description of the SDF.
The government, considering impacts on a referendum, cannot easily discount the CDP, which requests to rectify important errors found in the Referendum Act, or overlook the Communist Party and the Social-Democratic Party, which criticize the administration for the policies which violate the constitution.
Meanwhile, in several opinion polls held recently, many are proven to be in favor of constitution amendment in general, but as far as Article Nine and a clause on national contingency are concerned, many still remain against as these passages pose dangers to people. According to a survey conducted by the Mainichi Shinbun newspaper in April, the number of those against amendment during office of the Kishida government exceeded that of those in favor.
Some of the politicians were not elected on the ground to ‘amend the constitution’, and so their basis is not perfectly solid. Power to break through the ambitions of pro-amendment forces lies in movements of many people with organized voices to seek for ‘a society where we can live in peace and humanely’.
Many 24, 2023