"I am very encouraged that you are promoting the national discussions on revising Japan's Constitution," said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his video message to a more than 10,000-strong audience at a national rally in Tokyo on Nov. 10, 2015.
The rally to boost the movement to revise the Constitution was officially organized by a citizen group named the National Society to Create a Constitution for a Beautiful Japan. However, the Japan Conference is deeply embedded in the foundation of the society and virtually led the huge rally. The idea for the establishment of the society was originally formulated by Tadae Takubo, president of the Japan Conference, and many officers of the society overlap those of the Japan Conference.
The Japan Conference is often reported to be the largest right-wing organization in Japan. It was established in 1997 and describes itself as a "national movement association which has nationwide grassroots networks." According to the Asahi Shimbun, it has 38,000 fee-paying members, 47 prefectural headquarters, and 240 local branches with 1,700 local assembly members. It also has a nonpartisan parliamentary league to support itself, named the Japan Conference Diet Members. At 281 members, the league represents 39 percent of the total members in the Diet. Abe and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso are special advisers in the league. Small wonder the Japan Conference is considered to be one of the most influential political lobbies in Japan.