Poll shows 54% oppose revision of Japan's pacifist Constitution

Poll shows 54% oppose revision of Japan's pacifist Constitution

The article discusses the ongoing effort to revise Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, and the public's perception on revision. Article 9, part of Japan's Constitution written in 1947 after World War 2, bans Japan from possessing a military with 'war potential'. The following is the official English translation of Article 9.

ARTICLE 9. (1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

However, Japan still does possess a military, the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), that was established in 1954. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has advocated amending Article 9, still retaining the ban on Japan from posessing a "war potential", but clarifying the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces. It is part of Abe's goal to put a revised Constitution into effect in 2020.

In response to a general question of whether the Constitution should be amended for the first time ever, 54 percent said they were opposed to it under Abe's administration. However, in response to a question of whether Article 9 should be revised, 47 percent said there was no need, while 45 percent said a change was necessary.

These responses seem to show Abe's struggle in securing more widespread public support with his more 'nationalistic' views. It seems to me that keeping Article 9 the same is a way to minimize any likelihood of war, something the Japanese, of course, wishes to avoid. Despite this, however, of those in favor of amending the article in the survey, only 26 percent cited that the SDF was unconstitutional while 56 percent highlighted threats to Japan from North Korea and China. It seems that while Japan's defense and foreign policy post World War 2 has been largely pacifist, there is a sense of danger among the Japanese and a growing need for a stronger military.

This story shows Japan's struggle to remain a completely pacifist country in today's world. Japan has been successful in avoiding war since World War 2, partly due to the strict wording of Article 9 and public view on war in a post-war era. However, China's growing military and North Korea's nuclear missile threat presents a possible threat to Japan. The people seem to be still very much against war, but they are split on whether Japan should have a stronger means to defense themselves against such threats.