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August 30, 2025
 

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CONSTITUTION

EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2013
Revitalizing the SDP
Under its newly elected leader, the Social Democratic Party must go beyond shouting 'Protect the pacifist Constitution!' if its mission is to build a more equitable Japanese society.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 16, 2013
The wonderful world of Japanese law: Yōkoso to endless discovery
Having kindly published my intermittent ramblings on Japanese law and the occasional other subject over the years, The Japan Times has seen fit to give me a monthly column.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 7, 2013
The Special Dismissal Zone: where legal protections no longer apply
The government's Special Employment Zone wheeze has already been dubbed the Special Dismissal Zone, or kaiko tokku, by the media.
EDITORIALS
Sep 18, 2013
Mr. Abe's ominous defense moves
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's approach to changing the government's traditional position on the right to collective self-defense undermines the foundation of Japanese democracy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 16, 2013
Fukushima and the right to responsible government
A responsibility-shirking government is ultimately the people's problem — and responsibility — just as much as the nuclear disaster and all the nation's other problems are, argues Colin P.A. Jones.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 19, 2013
Clearing way for wider military role
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is poised to achieve his long-held goal of reinterpreting Article 9 of the Constitution to allow Japan to exercise its right to engage in collective self-defense under the U.N. Charter.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 19, 2013
Union, business concerns put limits on freedom of speech
Hot on the heels of their romp to victory in the race for control of the House of Councilors, the Liberal Democratic Party is chomping at the bit to overhaul the Constitution, which has not been amended since it was signed into law in 1946. The ruling party proposes gutting Article 9, which forever bans...
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2013
Mr. Abe's constitutional runaround
Shinzo Abe's choice for Cabinet Legislation Bureau chief gives away his intention to seek a constitutional justification for Japan's right to 'collective self-defense.'
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2013
Gaffe-prone leaders are doing Japan no favors
It is in Japan's long-term interest for its politicians to avoid remarks that could exacerbate ill will toward Japan and thus detract from its goal of economic revival.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2013
Japan's security dilemma
Chinese military planners have probably calculated that the U.S. is unlikely to threaten to devastate China in a Sino-Japanese conflict confined to the East China Sea.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 5, 2013
SOFA: an unequal treaty that trumps the Constitution?
The prime minister's dogged focus on amending the American-tainted Constitution might reflect an uncomfortable unspoken truth — that it may be easier to change the Constitution than revise another document of potentially greater importance: the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States, which governs the legal status of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 1, 2013
Aso retracts remark on 'learning from the Nazis'
After facing criticism both at home and abroad, Finance Minister Taro Aso retracts his remark suggesting Japan should learn from the Nazis when it comes to revising the Constitution, saying it led to a “misunderstanding.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2013
Aso's Nazi-inspired quip rubs Seoul the wrong way
Outspoken Finance Minister Taro Aso causes another international stir by urging Japanese politicians bent on revising the Constitution to learn from the way Germany under the Nazis amended the Weimar charter.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 2, 2013
The LDP constitution, article by article: a preview of things to come?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing for constitutional change. Yet he is playing the political huckster by proposing to first only fiddle with the amendment procedure in Article 96, lowering the threshold for the process to move forward from the approval of two-thirds of both houses of the Diet, as...
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jul 1, 2013
Constitutional revision debate could make or break 'Abenomics'
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's popularity continues — the latest Nikkei and TV Tokyo survey shows his approval rating at 66 percent, his Liberal Democratic Party's victory in the Upper House election seems highly probable, "Abenomics" is still on course, and even medium-term economic growth seems possible...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 30, 2013
Constitutional revision: Proposed Abe-rights look to be all wrong
After the Upper House elections on July 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may try to revise the Constitution. This longstanding agenda is now within reach because the Liberal Democratic Party he heads might be able to rally the necessary two-thirds of votes in both chambers of the Diet.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2013
Abe wants to gut public protections: expert
If the Liberal Democratic Party succeeds in rewriting the Constitution, it would severely scale back fundamental human rights and strip the public of various civil liberties, a prominent constitutional scholar warns.
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2013
Upcoming election's critical issue
Before the July 21 election, don't expect the LDP to talk much about the need to revise Article 96 of the Constitution, but it's in the party's campaign platform.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jun 25, 2013
Tokyo: Do you think conscription — in Japan or elsewhere — is a good thing or a bad idea?
I think conscription is a bad idea because we always say people are equal and can do what they want, and I myself am all for liberty and freedom of choice. To that end, people, whoever they are, must be able to do what they want, and if they don't want to [join the military], that is quite alright.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 25, 2013
Tweak the Constitution now, think later?
Whether it happens or not depends heavily on the results of the upcoming House of Councilors elections, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has clearly announced his intention to make amending the Constitution a campaign issue.
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
In pictures: Koenji Awa Odori 2025
Japan Times
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.

Podcast

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Longform

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From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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