Japan´s LDP calls for titling Emperor ‘head of state’

[Viet]

NATIONAL / POLITICS

The return of the Emperor?


KYODO | The Japan Times
MAR 14, 2013

beautiful Japan


Deviating from its economic agenda, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday called for revising the Constitution to designate the Emperor as “head of state” instead of “symbol of the state” — a move that would end his figurehead status and possibly give him actual political and government-related powers.

The opposition parties Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party backed the LDP’s call in the Lower House committee on constitutional revision, which was holding its first meeting since the LDP returned to power last December.

The three parties also agreed in principle at the meeting that Japan should be allowed to exercise its right to collective self-defense, which is limited by the war-renouncing Article 9.

The LDP, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is eager to alter the Constitution, contends the stipulation about the Emperor should be changed because “it is an undeniable fact” that the Emperor is the head of state, even though the Constitution clearly strips him of most powers enjoyed by other monarchs.

But the main opposition force, the Democratic Party of Japan, and the ruling LDP’s Buddhist-backed coalition partner, New Komeito, oppose the revision, noting the current wording, forged in the aftermath of a Shinto-inspired war in which the Emperor enjoyed divine status, did not pose any “inconvenience.”

Article 1 of the first chapter of the Constitution, which took force in May 1947, states, “The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.”

In its April 2012 revision proposals, the LDP used the phrase “head of state” along with “symbol of the state and the unity of the people.”

The committee began rethinking the Constitution in May 2012 but suspended talks last August after interparty squabbles broke out over the timing for dissolving the Lower House.

 

[Viet]

Things are becoming nasty thanks to China´s aggressive foreign policy.

Emperor Hirohito (1901 - 1989)
124th Emperor of Japan - "Imperial Son of Heaven of Great Japan"

 

[tranquilium]

Wow, previously I just thought the Japanese government to be petty and incompetent. Now they are actually trying to revert to a political system before bakufu time? I don't know the Chinese government did to drive Japan this crazy, but I like it.

Seriously though, how much political power does the emperor Japan has, quite frankly, does not make an ounce of difference as far as the other countries are concerned.

 

[Zero_wing]

Well they must change too its a must due to the Chinese threat but the lessons of the past should not forgotten

 

[Viet]

Wow, previously I just thought the Japanese government to be petty and incompetent. Now they are actually trying to revert to a political system before bakufu time? I don't know the Chinese government did to drive Japan this crazy, but I like it.

Seriously though, how much political power does the emperor Japan has, quite frankly, does not make an ounce of difference as far as the other countries are concerned.

Well, you China and your crazy brother North Korea are to blame, that Japan is slowly becoming a "normal" country.
More fun is coming.

 

[Raphael]

Jap Emperor has exclusively Korean heritage

 

[armchairPrivate]

^^Just like the queen of England who is German.

 

[Soryu]

Well, you China and your crazy brother North Korea are to blame, that Japan is slowly becoming a "normal" country.
More fun is coming.

North Korea may be look liked a crazy side, but they were on hard position, between China and America and others now, just like VN in past. China want them in their control for China's interest, America also want things in their way, so North Korea need be strong and hard like steel.

 

[NiceGuy]

Well, you China and your crazy brother North Korea are to blame, that Japan is slowly becoming a "normal" country.
More fun is coming.

N.K never kill a single VN civilian when S.K-Japan killed millions VNese and never say sorry.U should know who is our long time friend and whom should we support.

 

[lcloo]

Things are becoming nasty thanks to China´s aggressive foreign policy.

Emperor Hirohito (1901 - 1989)
124th Emperor of Japan - "Imperial Son of Heaven of Great Japan"

The emperor was like divine god in the eyes of Japanese during Imperial Japanese time, he was very supportive of their WW2 invasion of Asia-Pacific region, that's why when after defeat of Japan, the Americans re-write the constitution of Japan, and made him a symbol of state instead of head of state.

Abe is trying to change the constitution written by the Americans.

 

[Fsjal]

Wouldn't this break the constitution?
Will America accept this?

 

[Sarjen]

but do the Americans allow it...?

 

[Globenim]

Trust in the American "freedom and democrazy" seems to start crumbling all over Asia in face of overpowering Chinese growth and Americans breaking their "friendship and trust" all over the board like in case of the Philippines.
After Japan escapes the American grip how many lapdog states or so called "allies" will America have left in the region to create tension and for provocation? Its not easy to "divide and conquer" over the distance of an ocean without any middlemen.

 

[muse]

Japan, the Poisoned Chalice
Amitai Etzioni

March 19, 2013

Making Japan a centerpiece of the U.S. drive to contain China is a seductive idea—but one to which Washington should not succumb. Containment may or may not be the right policy for dealing with China, but even hawks should realize that pushing the most emotive buttons of a potential adversary amounts to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.

At first blush it may seem wise to draw upon Japan for support. As Fred Hiatt of The Washington Post put it, “Abe’s legacy is of little concern to most Americans. But as the United States seeks to contend—on a limited budget—with a rising China, the ability of its most important Asian ally to contribute…matters a great deal.” Getting Japan involved is a form of burden-sharing. Moreover, Japan hardly needs to be pushed; it is raring to go. It feels both threatened and aggrieved by China, and is shedding the pacifist plumes it acquired after World War II.

Japan’s new leader, Abe, inflames nationalist sentiments, building on a wave of WWII revisionism and some elements of a militaristic revival—although he is careful to tone down these themes when he visits us. He recently accused China of promoting anti-Japanese sentiment in order to draw attention away from its domestic problems. These lines apply at least as readily to Japan, which has been floundering economically while the sun has been shining on China.

The problem with trying to draw more on Japan to contain China is that such a move is sure to deeply offend and mobilize China. The two countries have a well known long and bitter history. The Chinese (as well as many Western historians) see their country as one that for centuries has been occupied, exploited and humiliated by several foreign powers. Yet none of these occupations involved atrocities of the kind Japan committed after its occupation of Manchuria and much of coastal China during World War II.

In the most notorious of these war crimes, the Nanking Massacre or “Rape of Nanking,” Japanese soldiers killed hundreds of thousands of unarmed prisoners and civilians while engaging in widespread looting and rape. The Japanese conducted medical experimentation on prisoners and tested chemical and biological weapons on the Chinese population, with some scholars estimating over 200,000 civilians killed by Japanese experiments with germ warfare. In addition, the Japanese also forced hundreds of thousands of women—most from China and Korea—into sex slavery for the “comfort” of Japanese soldiers.

Unlike Germany, which has faced up to its past and engaged in major educational efforts to inculcate in its people a sense of responsibility for the past and lessons for the future—as well as forge a union with its historical enemy France—the Japanese are rather reluctant to even acknowledge many of the atrocities they committed.

Although Japanese officials have issued apologies for their nation’s actions during the war, they have undermined these apologies’ sincerity. For example, though Abe issued an apology as prime minister in 2006 to those harmed by Japanese colonial aggression, he has been criticized for other signals: in 2012, prior to reclaiming the office, he visited a shrine commemorating killed Japanese soldiers—including those who committed severe war crimes. The shrine is viewed by China as symbol of Japan’s refusal to repudiate its past, and Abe’s visit prompted outrage. Abe also denies that Japan coerced the “comfort women” into sex slavery and has promised to revise Japan’s official 1993 apology for the practice.

There is a growing a current of historical revisionism on the Japanese right that seeks to downplay Japanese atrocities. For example, in 2000 and 2001, a vocal and well-funded right-wing group managed to get the ministry of education to approve a school textbook in which accounts of Japanese war crimes were either diluted or omitted entirely. The “New History Textbook” described the Nanking Massacres as a controversial “incident.”

More generally, the country has seen a persistent historical revisionist movement seeking to characterize Japan as a victim of Western aggression rather than an imperialist invader. As Daniel Sneider put it very well indeed in the pages of The National Interest, Japan, much like its wartime ally Germany, “can assume the mantle of leadership only if it abandons a morally repugnant defense of its wartime criminality.” Abe has shown few signs that he comprehends this crucial point and quite a few indicating that he does not.

The United States might conclude, after a thorough review—say of the kind that preceded the surge in Afghanistan—that China is hell-bent on becoming an aggressive global power, out to “eat our lunch,” as a Pentagon official put it. Then it would have to give up on the hope that we might resolve our differences in a peaceful and mutually beneficial way. In this scenario, perhaps egging on a Japan, whose nationalism is rising and militarism is stirring, might make sense. But such a review has not taken place and there are many reasons to believe that if properly conducted, it would lead to the opposite conclusions. As I have argued previously, China has neither the intention nor the capability to threaten the United States—although we could make an enemy out of China if we keep working at it.

If we are going to find a policy that allows China to find its place as a regional power—with the expectation that it also buys into the international order—then inflaming Japan is a penny-wise but pound-foolish. Japan can certainly be enticed to increase its military expenditures and commitments, as well as help confront China. However, the costs of such a strategy will be high indeed. China will feel even more cornered and provoked. It will become even less likely to cooperate in matters we care about a great deal, including addressing the threat posed by nations like North Korean and Iran. And it might greatly accelerate its military build-up, which so far actually has been quite limited.

Washington mobilizing Japan to “balance” China may seem a prudential step toward burden sharing—but the result is likely to be a much greater burden. It could lead to a China provoked to the hilt, its nationalism stoked and its defense budget further increased.

Some will respond that this is how we broke the Soviet Union. But in those days we had a very strong economy, while that of Soviets was in shambles. This time, the economic tea leaves fall rather differently: China can afford an accelerated military buildup far more readily than the United States.

Amitai Etzioni served as a senior advisor to the Carter White House; taught at Columbia University, Harvard and The University of California at Berkeley; and is a university professor and professor of international relations at The George Washington University. His latest book is Hot Spots: American Foreign Policy in a Post-Human-Rights World.

 

[Zero_wing]

Trust in the American "freedom and democrazy" seems to start crumbling all over Asia in face of overpowering Chinese growth and Americans breaking their "friendship and trust" all over the board like in case of the Philippines.
After Japan escapes the American grip how many lapdog states or so called "allies" will America have left in the region to create tension and for provocation? Its not easy to "divide and conquer" over the distance of an ocean without any middlemen.

yaya typical mainlader racist talk so far from the truth if you still using that idea this then you dead wrong first your country as been proving almost everyone. The Americans were too busy with the middle east and yet thanks to your country's stupid aggressive policies they are coming back