Constitution revision vital: Abe adviser

National May 11, 2014

Constitution revision vital: Abe adviser

by Linda Sieg

The idea that Japan can improve its security without dropping a long-standing ban on aiding friendly countries under attack is a miracle that just won't happen, the acting head of an advisory panel to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Abe has made clear that he ...

National May 9, 2014

Lawyers blast LDP bid to tweak Sunagawa ruling

by Tomohiro Osaki

A group of lawyers released a statement Friday expressing outrage over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's recent move to "forcibly" interpret a high-profile 1959 Supreme Court ruling to justify its claim that Japan is allowed to wield the right to collective self-defense. The ruling on ...

National / Politics May 9, 2014

Japan looks to expand SDF's overseas rescue duties

The Abe administration has asked ruling parties to consider legislation allowing Self-Defense Forces to rescue Japanese during emergencies abroad. The administration has been actively re-examining the legal constraints imposed by war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's team will likely call ...