The Diet has begun discussions on two separate bills submitted by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, and by the No. 1 opposition party, to specify procedures for holding a national referendum to amend the Constitution.
Submission of the bills is odd in itself because, at this moment, there are no concrete discussions to revise the Constitution, although the LDP last year disclosed a draft constitutional revision calling for changes to the war-renouncing Article 9 to allow creation of full-fledged armed forces.
A constitutional revision should be pursued only when a strong voice and enthusiasm exist for it among the public. Discussing procedures for changing the Constitution in the absence of either public demand or a widely discussed proposal for a concrete revision runs counter to reason.