Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has shown a strong desire to revise the Constitution.

And after her Liberal Democratic Party won more than two-thirds of the seats in the February Lower House election, the supermajority allows the party to initiate a constitutional amendment by itself in that Diet chamber.

Another important factor is that the LDP’s new coalition partner, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), has aggressively pushed for revision.

But the general public has shown little enthusiasm for such changes.

Although Takaichi has said she wanted to push policies that could split national opinion, revision of the supreme law of the nation must obtain a much wider agreement among the public.

A Constitution is intended to restrain state authority on behalf of the public.

The head of the administrative branch—who is subject to such restraint--should not be moving ahead as though revision is a settled matter.

FOLLOWING ABE’S COURSE

At the April LDP convention, Takaichi indicated she wanted to initiate revision in a year’s time.

The LDP and Nippon Ishin have called for establishing a committee within the Lower House Constitution Commission to draft amendments.

Takaichi’s political mentor, Shinzo Abe, constantly called for constitutional revision during the seven years and eight months of his second stint as prime minister.

He first tried to revise Article 96, which defines the procedure for an amendment, and proposed that an amendment could be initiated with a simple majority in both Diet chambers, rather than a two-thirds majority.

But he........

© The Asahi Shimbun