People pay keen attention lately to a term ‘shock doctrine’. That is an indication of fear: the government of Japan, taking advantage of a series of policies to cope with novel coronavirus, may commit in political evils. We must not allow the Abe government to drive the today’s social mood toward amendment of the war-renouncing constitution under a cover of the declaration of national emergency.

WE MUST NOT STEER THE DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY TOWARD AMENDING CONSTITUTION

On January 30, when the whole society was overwhelmed by the epidemic, former-Speaker of the House of Representative, Ibuki Fumiaki, a lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told: ‘How should freedoms be restricted, such as a freedom of mobility, a freedom to work, or a free choice where to live in, under the contingency of the epidemic? It is the time when we should have a laboratory in which how the constitution should be rewritten.’

An anachronistic statement

If the statement of Ibuki symbolizes a shock doctrine, its endorsement is exhibited in the LDP’s policy for the year 2020; the recent Declaration of National Emergency based on the Special Act on Novel Coronavirus.

The ruling LDP decided on the political guideline for 2020 in the Convention of Lawmakers of the Two Parliamentary Houses, instead of its national convention, due to the outbreak. The guideline has a chapter, called Toward New Constitution applicable to New Era, which is placed at the beginning of the document. It mentions explicitly the LDP’s firm determination that it will make the best to prepare parliamentary conditions in which an amendment proposal could be made efficiently.

As for amendment itself, an independent chapter is ready, which is for the first time since the inauguration of the second-term Abe government. In addition, an anachronistic phrase is inserted, which reads ‘in the emperor’s era of Reiwa’, which is an outright violation of the constitutional principle, people’ sovereignty. It continues to say that people fervently approved in the election for the House of Councilors last year that debates on revision should go forward, urging both of the constitution panels of two Houses to elaborate the issue beyond differences of political parties and groups. The paper adds that ‘if these political parties and groups raise opinions and proposals, the LDP will sincerely receive them to incorporate into an agreement to be supported by broad strata of the panel members’.

During the election campaign last year Prime Minister Abe Shinzo inquired whether voters should elect a candidate who debates on amendment or a candidate who does not. The ruling LDP maintained in the election the status of the top party, but reduced the number of seats, which is less than two thirds of the total members of the House of Councilors. That means the ruling bloc has lost the necessary quota by which a bid can be made to revise the constitution.

Prime Minister - A liar

People’s consensus lies in a stance not to get forward debates to rewrite the constitution. That is to say Premier Abe tells a lie. According to the opinion poll conducted in February by the Kyodo News Agency, people replied No to amendment of the constitution by the Abe government to an extent of 56.5%.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Abe mentioned on April 7, when debates were held in the House Steering Committee on issuing a declaration of national emergency, that creation of an article on an emergency situation should be ‘an extremely crucial task’, referring to the fourth clause of the LDP’s draft, and that he ‘hopes to see extensive debates beyond the ruling and opposite parties in the Houses’ constitution panels on the basis of recent developments’.

Actually, Prime Minister Abe responded quickly and complacently to a statement of a lawmaker of the Nihon-Ishin-no-Kai (the Renovation Party of Japan), who had told ‘it is necessary to create an article in the new constitution on national emergency in order to assure the government to execute its enforcing power.

An emergency on the pandemic must not be led to an emergency for constitution amendment.

April 21, 2020