A proposal to keep Article 9's second paragraph and add new wording to explicitly state the legal grounds for the Self-Defense Forces garnered support from a majority of those attending a meeting Wednesday of the Liberal Democratic Party's Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision of the Constitution.
Hiroyuki Hosoda, chairman of the headquarters, and other executives of the group will start drawing up a draft text that would keep the second paragraph intact. This paragraph prohibits Japan from possessing war potential.
The headquarters' high-ranking officials will need to proceed carefully because the wording they choose could impact the current interpretation of Article 9.
At Wednesday's general meeting of the headquarters, attendees received materials that precisely characterized by type the proposed revisions submitted by LDP lawmakers. There were several variations even among the proposals that retained the second paragraph. Some specified the Self-Defense Forces by name, while others used a more general term. Some proposals even specifically mentioned the nation could exercise its right to self-defense under international law. Among the proposed revisions that favored adding a third paragraph to Article 9, some stipulated both the SDF and exercising the nation's right to self-defense. "The current provisions do not prevent exercising the right of self-defense to the minimum level necessary, and the nation will possess the Self-Defense Forces as an organization capable of performing this task," one proposal said.
While some attendees voiced support for specifically mentioning the right to self-defense, the high-ranking officials took a negative view due to concerns this "could impact the current interpretation on the scope under which the right to self-defense can be exercised as allowed by the Constitution."
However, former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba insisted the second paragraph should be revised. Ishiba promoted a proposal that would delete the provision banning the maintenance of war potential, in line with the LDP's 2012 draft constitutional revision. This proposal would spell out in black and white the nation will possess "air, maritime and ground Self-Defense Forces."
"If Japan was illegally invaded by another nation, it would be pointless to have a provision that would not allow for the invader to be properly eliminated," Ishiba said to reporters after the meeting.
Naoki Okada, secretary general of the headquarters, indicated his intention to keep the process moving forward. "Many proposals supported retention of the second paragraph, and we'll prepare a draft that will represent this view," Okada said to reporters after the meeting.
At a general meeting early this month, the headquarters plans to present and collate proposals for a state-of-emergency clause applicable in times of large-scale disasters. Of four specific items to be included in constitutional revisions, the headquarters has largely settled on proposals for eliminating merged constituencies in House of Councillors elections and for improving access to education.
Kishida on board with proposal
LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Fumio Kishida has indicated he intends to support a proposal to retain paragraph 2 of Article 9 if the party decides on that option. The top law would be amended to specify the legal existence of the SDF.
"If that's the result, it would be natural for the whole party to close ranks and get behind the proposal," Kishida said at a press conference on Wednesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also is LDP president, has championed retaining the second paragraph.
Kishida had frequently expressed caution regarding any revision to Article 9.
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