On the occasion of Constitution Day (May 3), which commemorates the current Constitution's having taking effect on the same day in 1947, various political parties issued statements.

Although it is not that all the statements specifically mention Article 96 of the Constitution, it is clear that in view of recent statements by political leaders, what to do with the article is the most important issue in today's political discussions and will be the focal point of the Upper House election this summer.

The Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Restoration Party and Your Party are seeking ways to make it easier to revise the Constitution by first changing Article 96, a clause designed to prevent an imprudent revision of the Constitution. It cannot be emphasized too much that this is an extremely dangerous move. These parties ignore the highly important fact that a constitution is a mechanism to prevent the power of the government from subjecting people to arbitrary policies or autocratic rule.