Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is apparently being careful about pressing too heavy-handedly toward the realization of amending the Constitution and resolving the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea and the northern territories issue.
Responsibility to the public
During a policy speech that Abe delivered Friday, he referred to government attempts to address these issues -- for which require cooperation of the opposition parties, North Korea and Russia is indispensable -- refraining from making a bold statement to shape his political legacy.
Abe concluded his 23-1/2-minute policy speech at the House of Representatives plenary session by calling on lawmakers to discuss the issue of constitutional amendments to fulfill their responsibility to the public.
The opposition camp, which is opposed to amending the Constitution, jeered at Abe, while the ruling parties cheered and applauded at him.
"Based on the history of the Diet sessions, which have been held 200 times, Diet members would thoroughly discuss [the issue of constitutional amendment,]" he said at the 200th Diet session.
Referring to the first Diet session under the current Constitution in 1947, Abe said at the outset of his speech, "We held discussions under a great sense of responsibility and achieved strong reconstruction."
By highlighting the turning point of the postwar era and the enthronement of the new Emperor, Abe intends to boost momentum for constitutional revision.
Avoiding provocations
In the House of Councillors election in July, Abe appealed to voters to make a choice, saying, "[Do you choose] a party that discusses the Constitution or does not," resulting an election win.
Abe picked former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, who led the compilation of the Liberal Democratic Party's draft for constitutional revisions, for the post of the chief of the LDP Headquarters for the Promotion of the Revision of the Constitution
He also appointed former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tsutomu Sato, who once served as chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee and has extensive connections with opposition parties, as the chairman of the Commission on the Constitution in the lower house.
These appointments meant Abe is steadily making in preparations toward the revision of the Constitution.
People paid attention to how the prime minister would say -- as some observers believed -- he would actively push forward with constitutional revisions during the current Diet session on the grounds that he won public support.
However, he only mentioned a constitutional amendment in the last few minutes of his policy speech, and refrained from provocation or criticism toward the opposition party that they would not participate in discussions at the Diet. "I was a little disappointed," a mid-ranking LDP lawmaker said.
Before the speech, Abe suggested that he would make the speech in a restrained manner, saying to his aides, "It will be fine if the commissions on the Constitution in both houses of the Diet discuss the matter."
In the upper house, the forces that favor amending the Constitution, including the LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai, failed to maintain the two-thirds majority needed for the Diet to initiate the procedures for a revision.
N. Korea and Russia
In November, Abe is set to become the country's longest-serving prime minister overall, surpassing the record set by Taro Katsura. However, his term of office as LDP president will end on Sept. 30, 2021. Thus, less than two years remain for Abe to shape his political legacy, unless the LDP revises its party rules.
In his policy speech, he expressed a willingness to solve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea, but avoided a direct mention of nuclear and missile problems, aiming to create a mood for dialogue with Pyongyang. However, it remains unclear whether North Korea will discuss the issue with Japan.
Regarding the northern territories, some observers have said that negotiations with Russia have became further stalled as well.
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