The National Society to Create a Constitution for a Beautiful Japan met at the Budokan on Nov. 10 to listen to speakers advocate for a new national charter. One was Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who addressed the rally via a prerecorded video.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the society, many of whose members also belong to the conservative Japan Conference (Nippon Kaigi), are afraid that Abe will not fulfill his promise to overhaul the Constitution. He assured them that things are going according to plan, though another speaker mentioned that the "fierce resistance" to the security bills recently enacted to allow the Self-Defense Forces to participate in collective defense overseas meant that "it would be impossible to amend the Constitution now."
The bone of contention with regard to the security bills was their constitutionality, specifically whether or not they violated Article 9, which bans Japan from taking up arms. Though the Japan Conference wants to change the entire Constitution, Article 9 has become the focus.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.