Japans Verfassung, Artikel 9

JAPAN'S PATH TO MILITARISM
By Global Article 9 Campaign

On December 16, key figure of Japan’s ideological conservative right Abe Shinzo was elected as Japan’s new Prime Minister. Elected on a nationalist platform, Abe won a landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party in the lower house of Parliament. 

During his first tenure as Prime Minister in 2006-2007, Abe ardently pushed for the revision of war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution in the name of building a “strong Japan.” His track record includes overseeing the creation of the Ministry of Defense, advocating for the re-interpretation of Article 9 to expend the mandates of Self-Defense Forces’ missions and allow collective action. Back in power, Abe is determined to push his agenda forward.

New LDP’s draft constitution
Last April, before Abe returned to power, the LDP drafted a new constitution, with the changes it would like to see adopted as part of its broader agenda "to reclaim Japanese sovereignty" by getting rid of the current constitution, which, according to Abe, fails “to provide a necessary condition for an independent nation”.