In a rare move, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga criticized a new Supreme Court justice Wednesday for appearing to express reservations about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to reinterpret the Constitution. "I feel great discomfort," Suga said after Justice Tsuneyuki Yamamoto appeared to suggest Abe ...
Clearing way for wider military role
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is poised to achieve his long-held goal of reinterpreting Article 9 of the Constitution to allow Japan to exercise its right to engage in collective self-defense under the U.N. Charter. In February, Abe reconvened an advisory panel of security experts for ...
Union, business concerns put limits on freedom of speech
Hot on the heels of their romp to victory in the race for control of the House of Councilors, the Liberal Democratic Party is chomping at the bit to overhaul the Constitution, which has not been amended since it was signed into law in ...
Former leader of Japan's ruling party against raising defense profile
Ahead of the anniversary Thursday of Japan's surrender in World War II, former Liberal Democratic Party President and noted dove Yohei Kono says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could be igniting a never-ending regional arms race.
Security panel to discuss Japan's response to cyberattacks on allies
An expert government panel on ending Japan's self-imposed ban on exercising the right to collective self-defense will discuss the country's response to cyberattacks, a government source said. Collective self-defense is the notion of a nation aiding an ally that comes under attack. In this context, ...
Shinzo Abe's choice for Cabinet Legislation Bureau chief gives away his intention to seek a constitutional justification for Japan's right to "collective self-defense."
Gaffe-prone leaders are doing Japan no favors
It is in Japan's long-term interest for its politicians to avoid remarks that could exacerbate ill will toward Japan and thus detract from its goal of economic revival.
Chinese military planners have probably calculated that the U.S. is unlikely to threaten to devastate China in a Sino-Japanese conflict confined to the East China Sea.
SOFA: an unequal treaty that trumps the Constitution?
The prime minister's dogged focus on amending the American-tainted Constitution might reflect an uncomfortable unspoken truth — that it may be easier to change the Constitution than revise another document of potentially greater importance: the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United ...
Aso retracts remark on 'learning from the Nazis'
After facing criticism both at home and abroad, Finance Minister Taro Aso retracts his remark suggesting Japan should learn from the Nazis when it comes to revising the Constitution, saying it led to a “misunderstanding.”
