NEWSWORTHY
Abe's attacks on local governments yields backlash against his push to revise pacifist Constitution
Prime Minister Abe’s dream of revising the Constitution gets harder after he claims 60 percent of Japan’s local governments are resisting Tokyo’s efforts to recruit new SDF members.
White House weighs use of military, other accounts to find cash for border wall
If President Donald Trump declares an emergency to build the wall with Mexico, he still needs money to pay for it. And shifting money from other accounts to deliver the $5.7 billion he wants is not without political problems. The administration has spent months trying ...
Japan already in for politically hectic 2019, but may see 'double election'
Japan’s 2019 political calendar is shaping up to be a busy year with Emperor Akihito’s historic abdication at the end of April and elections in mid-April and over the summer.
It's vital that detailed public discussions be held on the constitutionality of using government money to hold religious rites.
Lawsuit filed against Japan's state-funded ceremonies to mark Imperial enthronement
Members of religious groups and other citizens sued the government on Monday, claiming that planned public spending on ceremonies involving the enthronement of Crown Prince Naruhito next year violates the constitutional principle of separation of religion and politics. The 241 plaintiffs including Christians and Buddhists ...
With debate on constitutional reform sidelined, has immigration law been a pyrrhic victory for Abe?
As the extraordinary Diet session wrapped up, Abe found himself no closer to fulfilling his longtime ambition of amending the nation’s postwar Constitution.
A remark by Prince Akishino, who will become heir to the Chrysanthemum throne next year, stirs controversy over how freely members of the Imperial family can speak about contentious matters.
What's behind the controversy over funding of Imperial succession ceremonies in Japan?
The following questions and answers relate to controversy over Imperial succession rituals set to be held following the enthronement of Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1, the day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates. How does the Constitution separate religion and state? Article 20 of Japan's ...
Liberal Democratic Party won't present Constitution revision plan to Diet this year
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party has given up its plan to present draft amendments to the pacifist Constitution to the ongoing extraordinary Diet session, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. In a policy speech in the Diet last month, Abe expressed his ...
Constitutional referendum would unleash TV blitz never before seen in Japan
If Japan ever calls a referendum on whether to revise the postwar Constitution, it could spark a heated TV advertising war, akin to what the U.S. goes through for its presidential election campaigns. The national referendum law as it now stands in principle enables anyone ...
