National / Politics Jul 21, 2015
After forced Lower House passage, Abe seeks 'understanding' of security bills in Upper House
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he's going to promote better understanding of his security bills during deliberations in the Upper House amid declining public support for his Cabinet. "Unfortunately, I believe low support for the security legislation and insufficient understanding (of the bills) have led ...
National Jul 21, 2015
Activists pick up baton left by admired constitutional scholar
by Keiji Hirano
For the late professor Yasuhiro Okudaira, preserving Japan's war-renouncing Constitution was his lifeblood. Now constitutional scholars of his ilk are intent on continuing his legacy in the face of the government's staunch bid to reinterpret the charter. Miho Aoi, who had planned to study mathematics as ...
Commentary / Japan Jul 20, 2015
by Christopher Hobson
If Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's concern is with strengthening the position of Japan, why he has made so little progress on economics reforms?
Commentary / Japan Jul 20, 2015
It's alright for Japan to fudge the Constitution
by Noah Feldman
A constitution must be interpreted pragmatically, to serve the nation's interests and help it avoid existential threats.
National / Politics Jul 20, 2015
Report says SDF mission in Iraq was a 'purely military operation'
Ground Self-Defense Force engineering personnel faced shelling by mortars and rockets in Iraq 10 years ago in a mission billed at the time as humanitarian but described by the unit chief as a "purely military operation," according to an internal GSDF report.
National / Politics Jul 19, 2015
United in outrage, protesters printing Anti-Abe posters in a nationwide campaign of dissent
Posters bearing the message "We will not tolerate Abe's politics" were raised Saturday across Japan by protesters against controversial security bills that were forced through the Lower House on Thursday. Roughly 5,000 people rallied with the posters in front of the Diet in Tokyo, according ...
National / Politics Jul 17, 2015
Top SDF officer says bills not meant to expand military power
The top officer in the Self-Defense Forces, currently visiting Washington, disagrees with China’s portrayal of the controversial security bills that passed the Lower House as expanding Japan’s military power.
Editorials Jul 16, 2015
The security legislation proposed by the Abe administration should not be enacted solely on the basis of the ruling coalition's majority strength.
National Jul 15, 2015
Protesters decry passage of 'war legislation' by Lower House committee
by Masaaki Kameda
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Wednesday morning in front of the Diet building in Tokyo in a show of measured outrage as a Lower House special committee voted on the government's defense bills. Organized by peace organizations, the gathering took place on the heels of a ...
Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Jul 15, 2015
The LDP's comic appeal for constitutional change falls flat
by Colin P.A. Jones
I hadn't planned on reading the Liberal Democratic Party's propaganda comic on constitutional change for the same reason I don't watch NHK, listen to AKB48 or use my underpants as an ashtray. Yet, as a piece of Japanese legal cultural history, perhaps it merits ...
National / Politics Jul 14, 2015
Debate over security bills masks clash of views on pacifist Constitution
by Linda Sieg
Is Japan's Constitution a symbol of peace and respect for universal values or a reminder of humiliating defeat? As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rushes to push through unpopular legislation allowing broader use of Japan's military, the heated security debate masks a deeper divide over the ...