Tag - us-constitution

 
 

US CONSTITUTION

JAPAN
May 9, 2014
Lawyers blast LDP bid to tweak Sunagawa ruling
A group of lawyers released a statement Friday expressing outrage over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's recent move to "forcibly" interpret a high-profile 1959 Supreme Court ruling to justify its claim that Japan is allowed to wield the right to collective self-defense.
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2014
Japan looks to expand SDF's overseas rescue duties
The Abe administration has asked ruling parties to consider legislation allowing Self-Defense Forces to rescue Japanese during emergencies abroad.
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2014
Constitution Day feted, fought over
Japan's pacifist Constitution is at a crossroads as the 67th anniversary of its taking effect is celebrated around the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 3, 2014
Does pacifism need an update?
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe increasingly bent on altering the pacifist Constitution, backers and foes of his revisionist agenda held gatherings on Constitution Day on Saturday to make their voices heard.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2014
Lawyer gives Article 9 some coffee shop buzz
One morning in late April dozens of mothers, some with children, gathered at an Italian restaurant in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, hoping not only to dine, but also to learn what kind of future might await their children if the Constitution is amended.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2014
Protecting the peace Constitution
As a majority of polled Japanese oppose Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to overturn the government's traditional interpretation of a constitutional principle that has enabled Japan to enjoy nearly 70 years of peace and prosperity, he should focus on improving ties with Japan's closest neighbors.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 29, 2014
Five bill revisions eyed in collective defense legalization bid
To legalize collective self-defense, revisions are being prepared in five bills aimed at altering the government's interpretation of the Constitution, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday during the Golden Week holidays.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2014
Six golden rules proposed for Abe's collective defense push
A panel drafts six conditions intended to ensure civilian control of the Self-Defense Forces if it achieves its goal of altering the Constitution to legalize collective defense.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 22, 2014
Anti-Abe forces emerging
Little was heard from Yasuo Fukuda, nor was much said about him, after he stepped down as prime minister in 2008. In recent months, though, he has been sought out by some LDP leaders to help repair the damage to relations with South Korea and China, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's style of diplomacy is said to have caused.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 21, 2014
More activists sue over Abe's shrine visit
Hundreds of activists filed a lawsuit Monday with the Tokyo District Court against the government and war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, claiming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit there last December was unconstitutional.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2014
Komeito fears defense drive
The deputy chief of New Komeito casts doubt on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's move to lift Japan's ban on using the right to collective self-defense.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 16, 2014
Hague jars with Japan's family law, a zero-sum game with only one outcome
A Japanese lawyer told me: 'To Westerners, marriage means 1+1=2. But in Japan it equals 1.' This made perfect sense to me, but perhaps I should explain.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2014
Avoid setting dangerous precedent
The Abe administration is trying to kill — by a mere Cabinet decision alone — a constitutional interpretation barring collective self-defense that has been backed by Diet debates for decades.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 12, 2014
Weapons for peace and proactive pacifism
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has relaxed curbs on arms exports and sees great market potential in Asia. In the Pacific Century, Asia's impressive economic growth is funding expanding defense budgets, making the region the most lucrative global arms market. Alas, it is also a region of significant flash...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2014
Article 9 nominated as candidate for Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Prize Committee officially nominates war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2014
Avoid voting age disparity
The question of whether the minimum voting age for participating in Japan's referendums should be lower than the voting age for other elections remains unsettled.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2014
Bill to lower referendum voting age submitted to Lower House
The ruling and opposition parties submit a bill to the Lower House to lower the age from which people can vote in a referendum to 18.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2014
Japan's image hurt by Abe's militarist facade: Nye
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nationalistic views on history are hurting Japan's chances in an increasingly public PR battle with China and South Korea, a Harvard professor says.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2014
Panel to delay report on collective self-defense until May
A panel of experts endorsed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will postpone until May its submission of a report proposing that Japan lift its ban on exercising the right to collective self-defense, a government source said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2014
Abe takes first swing at reinterpreting Constitution
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's team issues its first draft on altering Japan's interpretation of the Constitution in his quest to legalize the use of collective self-defense.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals