Path to Constitutional Revision Unclear under LDP-JIP Coalition

Tokyo, Jan. 4 (Jiji Press)--While Japan's two governing parties share the goal of revising the country's Constitution, differences between their stances are now becoming evident.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is seeking a realistic approach in amending the supreme law.

In contrast, the Japan Innovation Party, which replaced Komeito as the LDP's coalition partner in October, is taking a hawkish stance, such as proposing the inclusion of a reference to the possession of national defense forces in the top law.

Komeito, also seen to be a supporter of a constitutional revision, is cool to the division in the current ruling camp, with some in the party saying that amending the Constitution is distant under the LDP-JIP coalition.

"The dissolution of the coalition with Komeito has made it easier for our party to stress a conservative stance," Keiji Furuya, chairman of the LDP's Election Strategy Committee and former chairman of the party's Headquarters for the Realization of Revision of the Constitution, said at a meeting in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Dec. 21, underscoring his eagerness to revise the Constitution.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]