Some members of Komeito believe the junior coalition partner should abandon its election pledge to add the right to a good environment to the Constitution, party lawmakers said Monday.
The move may affect the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's strategy to win its coalition ally over to revising the Constitution on condition that the environmental right would be part of the deal.
The LDP, which hopes to start discussions soon on revising the Constitution — including war-renouncing Article 9 — believes outlining an environment-related right is among the changes that would easily gain the support of other parties.
But there is a view within Komeito that the environmental right should not be included in a list of items subject to discussions for possible addition to a revised Constitution, the lawmakers said.
The opinion has apparently arisen because of the fear of lawsuits over public works projects, which could hinder development, they said.
A senior Komeito lawmaker said the current Constitution can be interpreted as already offering such a right and that the Basic Environment Law was established to that end.
Komeito adopted a policy in 2002 that the right to live in a good environment should be added to the Constitution and listed it in its pledges for last December's Lower House election.