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A Losing Battle

In every government, the constitution is the most valuable ruling power since it defines specific laws. Although there are many forms of government, the constitution limits the power of the government leader. The Japanese constitution, also known as the Meiji Constitution, was the first modern constitution of Japan; however, the Meiji Constitution has been under controversies since it was discovered to have foreign origins. Conservatives and nationalists wanted to revise the constitution to make it more “Japanese”.

One prominent reason why the Nationalists and Conservatives wanted to change the constitution is because of Article 9. It states there that, “Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes”. The argument of the current nationalists is that Japanese people will never be able to defend themselves if there are threats to their country. They are just thinking of the need to protect their own people especially during terrorist attacks.

In addition, another reason why they want to revise the current constitution is that they want to make it more “Japanese”. What is being implied by that statement? When deeper thinking is applied, the nationalists and conservatives wanted to remove certain rights of the people since it is known that the Emperor holds absolute power. By doing this, the Emperor would again hold much power which could be useful to these conservatives since they would use the Emperor’s powers to their own advantage. What ever their goals maybe, such revisions would only lead to the collapse of the people’s freedom.

So, the big question now would be: “Why have persistent efforts to revise Japan’s constitution failed, thus far?”

First, the opposition is oft great number than that of the nationalists. In the current constitution, it says there that, “Amendments require approval by two-thirds of the members of both houses of the National Diet before they can be presented to the people in a referendum.” It was found out that opposition parties occupy more than one-third of the Diet seats; therefore, amendments were not of course possible. Also, opposition parties were firm supporters of the constitutional status quo. Even for members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the constitution was advantageous. For Example is Yasuhiro Nakasone, a strong advocate of constitutional revision during much of his political career, downplayed the issue while serving as prime minister.

Secondly, regarding Article 9, the opposition parties are only trying to protect Japan. How? Since it is stated that the Japanese country renounces war in all forms, the country is not allowed to participate in world affairs regarding war. Furthermore, Japan is not allowed to defend itself from any foreign attacks. The party is only trying to let the people remember the troubles that they had given the world. Although this argument is not that strong enough, but still, the fact that Japan did terrible things like mass murder and rape are instilled to the minds of every individual who experienced such events. As a result, the Japanese people must be careful with every action that they do so as not to avoid a repetition of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In closing, it is certainly true that nationalism and patriotism must be practiced by every citizen. It is never wrong to acknowledge our brave fighters who fought during previous wars, but we must remember which side we were on. Are we the oppressor? Or, are we the oppressed? Nowadays, the voting with regards to the amendment of Article 9 goes in favor to the nationalists. The Japanese people must think deeply of the consequences regarding the amendment. They must always remember what they had done. Those things that they did are still unforgivable and unforgettable to many countries like Korea and the Philippines. Every choice is immediately followed by consequences whether good or bad. All in all, the amendment is still on hold due to the factors mentioned above despite all the persistent efforts done. Maybe, the wisdom behind it is for the good of the Japanese people.