How socialism and the left wing failed in Japan
Three decades ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Malta Summit signified the end of the Cold War and the defeat of left-wing forces, including the socialists and communists. The communists lost power in the East, and the socialist parties in the West ...
Tetsu Nakamura's death in Afghanistan exposes a gap of perception in Japan
Following the assassination of Dr. Tetsu Nakamura in Afghanistan earlier this month, the government of Afghanistan held a memorial ceremony for him as his body was delivered to the airplane that would take it out of the country. President Ashraf Ghani was one of ...
Abe's push to change Japan's Constitution hits roadblock as parties scrap Diet discussion
LDP sources have said the party has all but given up hope of passing the bill this year, reports have said.
Abe becomes Japan's longest-serving prime minister
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the nation’s longest serving prime minister on Wednesday, beating previous record holder Taro Katsura by having served for a total of 2,887 days.
Head of Democratic Party for the People seeks constitutional debate not focused on Article 9
The opposition Democratic Party for the People wants to pursue discussions on constitutional reform but the discussion should not focus on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's four-point proposal that includes changes to war-renouncing Article 9, party head Yuichiro Tamaki has said. In a recent interview, ...
A tug-of-war between the pro- and anti-revision forces has been playing out within the DPP, with leader Yuichiro Tamaki wavering between the two sides.
The danger in Abe's constitutional amendment proposal
If there is to be any amendment to the Constitution, the substance of the Abe Cabinet's 2014 reinterpretation of Article 9 to allow collective self-defense should be made part of the proposal or withdrawn entirely.
Despite winning more seats in Upper House vote, Komeito officials worry about losing support
Komeito boosted its presence in the House of Councilors in the latest election, but a sense of crisis among party officials has deepened as the number of votes it acquired under the proportional representation system fell by more than 1 million compared to the ...
Poll shows 56% of Japanese oppose amending Constitution under Abe government
More than half of people in Japan oppose amending the nation's postwar pacifist Constitution under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, a Kyodo news survey conducted after the Upper House election showed Tuesday. In the two-day telephone survey, held from Monday, 56.0 percent opposed Abe's drive ...
Abe calls for constitutional amendments proposals to be debated in Diet
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday demanded that the Diet discuss his Liberal Democratic Party's proposals for constitutional amendments. The LDP's proposals include defining the roles of the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9. Political parties should put forward their own proposals for constitutional ...
Japan's ruling bloc to delay submission of bill to revise referendum law
The ruling bloc has decided not to submit a bill to revise the country's referendum law to the ongoing ordinary Diet session, informed sources have said. The Liberal Democratic Party-led camp apparently hopes to avoid confrontations with opposition forces ahead of the House of Councilors ...
