Japanese PM hopes for progress in revising Constitution

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Japanese PM hopes for progress in revising Constitution

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his hope for progress in the debates on revising the Constitution in a television program aired Sunday.

In the program of the NHK, Kishida, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and leaders of other political parties discussed how to proceed with parliamentary debates on the proposed revision of the supreme charter.

Kishida said that the Constitution, which has been in force for 75 years, may have elements that are outdated and lacking. I hope that public awareness of the Constitution will increase and that discussions on revising it will progress. Kenta Izumi, the leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the national referendum law is still insufficient. He called for prioritizing parliamentary debates on proposed restrictions on commercial advertisements and donations from foreign nationals.

Nobuyuki Baba, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, said: Let s hold deeper discussions on various items, take votes on them and decide whether to propose a revision. Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said we should reach a conclusion soon on whether to allow a special extension of lawmakers terms to keep the functions of the legislative body in times of emergencies.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, the leader of Komeito, the LDP's partner in the ruling camp, called for careful debates on a constitutional revision, saying, We need to confirm the significance of the Constitution together. Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, said that we want to have a lot of discussions on peaceful diplomacy based on Article 9 of the Constitution rather than changing the war-renouncing article.

Reiwa Shinsengumi leader Taro Yamamoto said that constitutional reform is not a priority and that discussions on coronaviruses and social security are important.