Sapporo Ichiban
08-22-2006, 10:01 AM
Japan's Abe seeks to revise constitution
Forbes 08.22.2006, 07:52 AM
TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Shinzo Abe, the front-runner to become Japan's next prime minister, has called for revisions to the pacifist constitution imposed after World War II, saying the country must adapt to a new era.
The 51-year-old conservative also called for Japan to shake up its leadership structure to set up a decision-coordinating body similar to the US National Security Council.
'The next leader will have to have the leadership to include a new constitution on his political agenda,' Abe, the chief cabinet secretary, said in a speech in Yokohama near Tokyo.
'Drafting a new constitution would open up a new era. We really need this spirit to bring us into a new era.'
The constitution, which the United States forced on Japan in 1947, bans the country from using force or maintaining a military.
But the country has been gradually taking on a larger military role, sending troops to Iraq on a reconstruction mission in which they did not fire a shot.
Abe plans to unveil his platform on Sept 1 ahead of the Sept 20 vote of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that decides on the successor to retiring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Abe said Japan needs a decision-making body similar to the US National Security Council, which is headed by the president and includes key aides.
'We must create an organization in the prime minister's residence, one similar to the United States' National Security Council,' Abe said.
'It is necessary to have a unit that would gather and analyze information, with its director well-connected to his counterpart's aide at the National Security Council of the United States,' he said.
Forbes 08.22.2006, 07:52 AM
TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Shinzo Abe, the front-runner to become Japan's next prime minister, has called for revisions to the pacifist constitution imposed after World War II, saying the country must adapt to a new era.
The 51-year-old conservative also called for Japan to shake up its leadership structure to set up a decision-coordinating body similar to the US National Security Council.
'The next leader will have to have the leadership to include a new constitution on his political agenda,' Abe, the chief cabinet secretary, said in a speech in Yokohama near Tokyo.
'Drafting a new constitution would open up a new era. We really need this spirit to bring us into a new era.'
The constitution, which the United States forced on Japan in 1947, bans the country from using force or maintaining a military.
But the country has been gradually taking on a larger military role, sending troops to Iraq on a reconstruction mission in which they did not fire a shot.
Abe plans to unveil his platform on Sept 1 ahead of the Sept 20 vote of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that decides on the successor to retiring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Abe said Japan needs a decision-making body similar to the US National Security Council, which is headed by the president and includes key aides.
'We must create an organization in the prime minister's residence, one similar to the United States' National Security Council,' Abe said.
'It is necessary to have a unit that would gather and analyze information, with its director well-connected to his counterpart's aide at the National Security Council of the United States,' he said.