[Epoch Times, July 12, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting comprehensive report) After the Liberal Democratic Party’s big victory in the upper house election, the Japanese Prime MinisterKishida FumioOn Monday (July 11), it said that it will push forward the constitutional amendment agenda and continue to complete it.Abeunfinished goal.Beijing has alwaysJapan’s Constitution AmendmentSuccess was uneasy, worried that it would loosen Japan’s participation in overseas operations. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Monday that the matter is highly concerned.
Kishida: The constitutional amendment agenda will be implemented as soon as possibleAbeunfinished goal
Amends the pacifist constitution, strengthens Japan’s military shock capabilities, has been a former prime ministerShinzo Abelong-term goals. Abe once said: “Having great strength is the deterrent.”
Abe shocked the world when he was shot and killed on July 8 while he was campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party candidate. Tributes are being held around the world for Abe.
After Japan’s ruling coalition won a landslide victory in Sunday’s upper house election, Kishida vowed on Monday to build on Abe’s legacy. “I want to push forward the work that can come up with a (constitutional revision) proposal as soon as possible,” he said.
He added that pushing for a parliamentary debate would provide the public with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the constitutional amendment.
Kishida said all the LDP’s proposed amendments, such as a clear definition of the role of the Self-Defense Forces, were “contemporary issues.” He said the LDP was willing to lead discussions in Congress.
“We must continue to build on Abe’s many achievements and pass on to the next generation a splendid and vibrant Japan that he loves and that we love,” Kishida said.
Kishida also said he would seek to continue difficult goals that Abe had not accomplished, such as constitutional reform. Japan’s pacifist constitution has not changed for 75 years since it came into effect in 1947.
Senate election to amend constitution camp crosses important threshold
In Japan, any amendment to the constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament, and lawmakers who support the amendment already have a two-thirds majority in the lower house.
In the just-concluded Senate elections, the camp supporting constitutional amendments also crossed the threshold of a two-thirds majority, allowing the Liberal Democratic Party to advance a parliamentary motion on constitutional amendments.
Although the amendment still has to be approved by a majority of voters in a referendum, Kishida is optimistic that the Japanese government will actively work, such as holding meetings across Japan, to make the public understand the meaning of the constitutional amendment.
In recent years, in the face of the growing threat from the CCP and North Korea, what Abe wants most is to free Japan from the constraints of Article 9 of the Constitution and untie the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to participate in overseas operations.
Article 9 of the Constitution stipulates that Japan is not allowed to use force to resolve international disputes; it does not maintain land, navy, air force and other military forces; it does not recognize the country’s right to war.
In Abe’s view, with these constraints, Japan cannot defend itself against the enemy.
In September 2015, with the support of Abe, the Japanese parliament passed the Security Act, lifting the ban on the right to collective self-defense and authorizing the Japanese military to participate in overseas combat missions with allied forces in the name of “collective self-defense”.
The security law allows Japan to support the United States and other Japanese allies. But before the government can send troops, it still needs congressional approval.
At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, the Information Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of National Defense all spoke out and criticized Japan, believing that Japan adhered to the Cold War mentality and planned to increase its overseas use of troops.
Abe said at the time that in the face of challenges such as the CCP, the security law is a necessary policy for Japan, and the purpose of the security law “is to stop the war.”
Japanese citizens have previously opposed constitutional amendments and higher military spending for fear of slipping into militarism. After Congress passed the security law in 2015, critics said it was unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court of Japan decides that the security law is unconstitutional, the security law can be overturned.
Therefore, Abe has been pushing for constitutional revision. He addressed the House Budget Committee in March 2016 about the need to amend the Constitution to fully lift the right to collective self-defense.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, many Japanese people are worried about China’s invasion of Taiwan, so they have turned to support Japan to strengthen its defense capabilities.
For Beijing, the biggest worry is that when the Chinese army attacks Taiwan, Japan will support the United States in defending Taiwan under the authorization of the “right of collective self-defense”.
Abe said that if there is something in Taiwan, there is something in Japan. He told The Economist in May this year, “Japan and Taiwan are only 100 kilometers apart. If Beijing conducts an armed attack on Taiwan, the Chinese military will have to enter Japan’s airspace to ensure air superiority. “critical situations” under the Peace and Security Law, and we will provide logistical support for the U.S. military.”
Abe publicly called on the United States to abandon its “strategic ambiguity” policy, and believed that the United States and Japan must clearly demonstrate their determination to defend Taiwan, and do not allow the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to have any room for doubts about the determination of the United States and Japan to defend Taiwan, otherwise it may lead to the CCP’s military unification of Taiwan.
In the face of the CCP’s looming military threat to Taiwan, Abe believes that the Japanese should change their “ideal world” thinking. Japan likes to talk about an ideal world, he said, “but we must change our attitude of handing over all military affairs to the United States. Japan must take responsibility for peace and stability and do its best to work with the United States to achieve this goal.”
Abe also said that Japan’s reinterpretation of the Constitution has allowed the U.S.-Japan alliance to develop into an alliance where the two countries can help each other, “in this sense, it is epoch-making. For example, it is because of this legislation that we are now able to deal with Taiwan. situation”.
An opinion article by The Hill on July 11 said that the greatest political legacy left by Abe has become the sworn enemy of China and North Korea.
In response to current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s vow to speed up the constitutional revision agenda on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “Due to historical reasons, the issue of Japan’s constitutional revision has received high attention from the international community and its Asian neighbors.”
Expert: Kishida’s proposal to increase defense spending has received unprecedented wave of support
Besides constitutional revision, another thing the CCP does not want to see is that the Japanese government seeks to increase the defense budget.
Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated on Monday that he was seeking to deepen discussions on measures necessary to protect people’s lives in a dire security environment and to “substantially strengthen” Japan’s defenses within five years.
Japan’s next defense budget could be as high as 6 trillion yen ($45 billion), or an 11 percent increase from last year, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker close to Abe and knowledgeable about internal defense discussions told Archyde.com.
“If he (Kishida) can do that, conservatives in the party will flock to Kishida and he will have a long-term government, there is no doubt about that,” the lawmaker added. target to secure his prime ministership.”
The scale mentioned by the LDP lawmaker is an annual increase in military spending of about 10%, which would double Japan’s military spending to 2% of GDP by the end of the century and make Japan the world’s No. 1 country after the United States and China. The three largest military spenders.
“Kishida’s increased defense budget has set off an almost unprecedented wave of support in Japan,” Archyde.com quoted Christopher Johnstone, a senior adviser and head of Japan at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), as saying.
“Kishida’s proposal was hardly controversial,” Johnstone said.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#