Revision of the National Referendum Law has been shelved for more than two years, and discussions on the Constitution have hardly made any progress. The Diet should change this situation.
The House of Representatives Commission on the Constitution held its first free debate of the current Diet session. The commission's latest meeting was attended by a fresh lineup of participants, with Hiroyuki Hosoda, former chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision of the Constitution, assuming the post of commission chairman.
The meeting represented only the second free debate this year. This is because opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, had refused to hold a meeting of the commission under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, which demonstrated a strong desire to revise the Constitution.
Taking the new membership as an opportunity, an environment must be created in which there can be active discussions between the ruling and opposition parties, including holding meetings regularly.
The LDP emphasized that "the debate over the national referendum must move forward," and sought an early enactment of the revision bill.
The main purpose of the revision bill is to improve convenience for voters when holding a national referendum on constitutional revision. The bill would allow common polling stations to be set up at railway stations and commercial facilities, and remove restrictions on children voters can bring to polling stations.
Such measures have already been introduced in national and local elections, and it is only natural to apply them to national referendums.
The ruling and other parties submitted the revision bill to the Diet in June 2018, and the opposition camp has not expressed objections. It is time for the commission to reach a conclusion to pass the bill.
At the commission meeting, the Democratic Party for the People expressed its willingness to vote on the revision bill. As conditions for participating in the vote, the DPFP sought to hold additional debates on such matters as restrictions on television ads regarding national referendums, and the LDP expressed a positive stance toward the DPFP's proposal. It is commendable that the two sides have made a compromise.
However, the CDPJ insisted that TV commercials should be discussed first. This is a different kind of matter from improving the convenience of voting, so it cannot be an excuse for refusing to vote. It is reasonable to deem that the CDPJ is using this affair as an excuse to postpone discussions on the Constitution.
Given the rapid increase in internet advertising and the spread of social media through which individuals can send out messages, is it appropriate to tighten regulations on television advertising? This issue should be carefully considered, including the question of consistency with "freedom of expression."
The commission is responsible for studying the Constitution, the nation's supreme law, and drawing up a draft for revisions. It should not waste time on procedural law and thereby prevent constitutional debate, the main purpose of the commission, from going forward.
The LDP has compiled a four-point revision bill that includes the addition of legal grounds for the Self-Defense Forces and a state of emergency clause. The DPFP is expected to announce its draft of a revision bill within this year.
It is important to deepen the public's understanding of constitutional revision through constructive discussions among parties.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Nov. 22, 2020.
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