Abe Calls for Debate on Revising Pacifist Charter

Date: 22 July 2019 - 21:13

News ID: ۶۸۴۱۴

TOKYO (REUTERS) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday called for debate on revising the post-war, pacifist constitution, saying the result of an upper house election the previous day showed it was what voters sought.
Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition won a solid majority, but together with like-minded allies, fell short of the two-thirds "super majority" needed to begin the controversial process of amending the constitution, never changed since it was adopted after Japan's World War Two defeat.
Abe has long sought to revise the constitution's pacifist Article 9 to further legitimize the military, but public opinion is divided.
The constitution, which has been in place in its original form since it was drafted following Japan's World War Two defeat in 1947, was engineered to prevent the country from waging war and maintaining a military.
Any change in the charter must be approved by two-thirds of both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum.
Surveys indicate that voters are divided over changing the document, with opponents arguing the move would increase the risk of Japan getting entangled in U.S.-led conflicts in the region.
Ironically, the U.S. supports Abe's push to renounce the pacifist constitution because it paves the way for the sale of American weapons to Japan.
Under Abe, Japan has already announced that it will spend a record $242 billion on military equipment over the next five years, 6.4 percent higher than the previous five-year plan.
Last December, Japan approved military plans to buy more American stealth fighters and other equipment in order to boost its capabilities against regional powers Russia and China.
Japan's decision to buy 105 more U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighters will allegedly expand its capabilities in the South China Sea, posing a threat to Beijing.
Tokyo also plans to convert two large ships, the Izumo and Kaga, into aircraft carriers for the first time since World War II.
It will also buy other U.S.-made equipment, including two land-based Aegis Ashore air defense radars, four Boeing Co KC-46 Pegasus refueling planes, and nine Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye early-warning planes.
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Abe to buy "massive” amounts of military equipment from the United States, saying it would help Japan shoot down missiles from North Korea.