Archive to tell story of Beate Sirota Gordon's pivotal role in fight for gender equality in Japan
Documents related to Beate Sirota Gordon, the American translator who played a major role in the formulation of the Japanese Constitution's gender equality protections, are being archived in a project exploring the development of women's rights. The initiative, which aims to demonstrate the role women ...
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 ...
Concerns should be addressed to ensure that a national referendum on a constitutional amendment can be held in a fair manner that leaves no questions unanswered.
Questions persist as to whether some aspects of the imperial family's traditional rites are congruous with the constitutional separation of state and religion.
On Constitution Day, Abe again vows to revise Japan's top law, aiming for enactment in 2020
The prime minister’s lifelong drive to rewrite pacifist Article 9 will hinge on the Upper House election in July, political observers say.
Controversy over separation of state and religion in Japan rekindled after Shinto imperial rite
As Emperor Naruhito ascended to the throne Wednesday, a key imperial succession ritual related to Shinto rekindled controversy over the separation of state and religion, which is stipulated in the Constitution. Shinto is a Japanese religion in which the emperor is venerated as a descendant ...
Poll shows 54% oppose revision of Japan's pacifist Constitution under Abe's watch
Just over 40 percent in Japan are supportive of efforts to revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the nation's Constitution, while over half oppose, a poll showed Wednesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has advocated amending the top law, proposing that a paragraph of Article 9 ...
As use of the Gregorian calendar has become more prevalent in the postwar period, some see the Japanese era system — which has been in use for more than 1,300 years — as unnecessary and no longer relevant to modern society. Some argue that the ...
Heisei's legal legacies include greater civic participation
With Emperor Akihito abdicating on April 30, the Heisei Era that began Jan. 8, 1989, after his father's death will also come to an end. With this column I'd like to look back at some of the noteworthy changes that occurred to Japan's laws ...
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.
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.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will face an uphill battle this year in his effort to create a lasting legacy for his administration by amending the Constitution.
