LDP seeks all-party talks on revising pacifist Constitution
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party called Thursday for all-party talks on revising the Constitution in areas they can agree upon, in an apparent bid to lower the bar for a first-ever revision of the U.S.-drafted charter. The LDP aims to ultimately revise war-renouncing Article 9, ...
18 looms as new age of majority
Japan's youth will finally get a chance to have their voices heard in politics. Revisions to the Public Offices Election Law that would lower the minimum voting age to 18 from 20 are being deliberated in the Diet and are widely expected to be passed ...
Activists battle to justify, denounce Constitution
As the conservative LDP forges ahead with its bid to revise the national charter, activists rally on Constitution Day to press both sides of the debate.
LDP aims to revise Constitution by 2017
A key member of the Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday he wants the party to achieve its long-held goal of revising the Constitution within the next two years, arguing the 68-year-old charter should be updated to adapt to a changing domestic and international environment. Speaking ...
Abe breaking arms taboo with Japan's first defense trade show
Japan will host its first international defense trade show next month as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe elbows the pacifist Constitution aside to tap the lucrative arms industry.
Four situations laid out in new U.S.-Japan defense guidelines, including collective action
Japan and the United States will state how their forces will cooperate in four specific situations, including a case of collective self-defense, in revised defense cooperation guidelines aimed for release later this month.
Given Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's moves to undermine cherished constitutional principles, citizens must pay close attention to his words.
The Osaka High Court on Thursday ruled that the House of Representatives election in December, in which there was a maximum 2.13-fold disparity in the weight of votes between districts, was constitutional. The court dismissed the plaintiffs' demand that the election results in Nara Prefecture's ...
Komeito may opt against right to good environment amendment in Constitution
Some members of Komeito believe the junior coalition partner should abandon its election pledge to add the right to a good environment to the Constitution, party lawmakers said Monday. The move may affect the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's strategy to win its coalition ally over ...
Coalition takes major step toward loosening SDF rules
The ruling coalition reaches a formal deal on security legislation, bringing the Abe administration one step closer to expanding the role Japan’s military can constitutionally play overseas.
Vote disparity in 2014 Lower House election is constitutional, Tokyo High Court rules
Presiding Judge Toru Odan said the Diet has been taking measures to "redress the situation" by, for instance, reducing the number of single-seat constituencies to 295 from 300.
Kono urges Abe to erase doubts over war history
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must erase doubts — sparked by his own words and deeds — that he wants to water down accounts of Japan's wartime wrongs, according to a former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. Yohei Kono, who as chief Cabinet secretary issued ...
