Regarding the story "Lower House passes security bills amid protests" in the July 17 paper — Guess what? On the morning following the LDP's bulldozing the security bills through the Lower House, NHK spent the first 20 minutes of the morning news talking about the weather, followed immediately by sports news! There wasn't a single mention of what had happened in the Diet the day before. Japanese press neutrality has gone to the dogs.

Shinzo Abe has deviously bent the Constitution by amending the software (interpretation) rather than bothering to change the hard disk drive (calling for a proper national referendum).

Most of my Japanese friends and general opinion polls confirm to me that more than 60 percent of the Japanese people clearly do not want a reinterpretation of Article 9.

I have lived in this wonderful peace-loving nation for 46 years but never has there been such an obviously dangerous surge to the right. I dread what the prime minister's Aug. 15 statement might bring forth.

NICO

OTA WARD, TOKYO

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.