Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:Large demonstrations were held in Japan to oppose any changes to the country’s pacifist constitution as Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has called for “advanced discussions” on revising the supreme law.
Takaichi and others on the conservative wing of the ruling Liberal Democratic party have long called for change, saying the current document restricts Japan’s ability to respond to growing security threats from North Korea and China.
While controversial legislation passed a decade ago theoretically allows Japan to exercise collective self-defence – or coming to the aid of an ally under attack – Takaichi has turned reform into a focal point of her administration since becoming Prime Minister last autumn.
Any revisions would need to secure a two-thirds majority in both houses of Japan’s national diet – or parliament – and a simple majority in a national referendum.
Demonstrations were held in dozens of other towns and cities on May 3 – a public holiday – attended by people old enough to recall how the postwar constitution had brought peace and stability to a country ravaged by conflict.