The Democratic Party of Japan continues its efforts to transform Japanese political practice toward greater congruence with formal demands of the Constitution. Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa is plotting strategy for a major reform bill, described here, that would reduce the power of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau to appear in the Diet. As a corrolary this would reduce its power to offer authoritative interpretations of constitution. These interpretations have been crucial in adjusting constitutional understandings of the famous anti-war Article Nine.
Thanks to Craig Martin, who has some good writing on the constitutional issues surrounding Japan’s Article Nine available here.
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2 responses to “Japanese “constitutional” change”
Interesting. I’ve heard it suggested that the Cabinet Legislation Bureau were actually the ‘good guys’ under Koizumi, in the sense of opposing an even more flexible reading of Article 9 and thus insisting on a somewhat greater degree of fidelity to the text. I guess time will tell what Ozawa’s motives are here.
Thank you^^