Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been rallying support in a vote for the leadership of his Liberal Democratic Party. The win puts him on course to be the country's longest-serving prime minister.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images/E. Hoshiko
Advertisement
Members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party voted on Thursday for their top leadership post, in a poll that incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comfortably won and extended his mandate by three years.
A total of 810 votes were up for grabs — half of them coming from the Liberal Democratic Party members of parliament, with the rest allocated according to the votes of rank-and-file party members. Polls had shown the 63-year-old Abe would romp to victory against a former defense minister, Shigeru Ishiba.
In the end, Abe secured 553 votes against 254, roughly 68 percent support. The margin of Abe's win was crucial, as it would determine how easy it might be for him to introduce reforms.
Although voters view the economy and social security as their top priorities, Abe aims to use the new mandate to pursue his dream: the rewriting of Japan's post-World War II pacifist constitution.
The future of Japan's constitution, explained
After a landslide victory, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to pursue his ambitious plans to revise the constitution's pacifist nature. DW examines the parts he wants to change and the obstacles in the way.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jue
Postwar constitution
Drafted in the wake of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, the Japanese constitution established democratic processes, enshrined the role of the Emperor and ensured the country's pacifist nature. But decades have passed since its non-Japanese writers hashed out Japan's political future. A new wave has emerged, pushing for the recognition of Japan's right to maintain a standing military.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
Article 9: 'Forever renounce war'
Article 9 of Japan's constitution enshrines the country's pacifist nature. The first part of the article states that "Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation," while the second stipulates it will not maintain military. But Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed revising parts of the constitution that forbid the country from maintaining a standing military.
Image: picture-alliance/CPA Media
The question of recognition
While Japan's constitution forbids the country maintain a standing military, it nonetheless has one of the best-equipped militaries in the world. Tokyo justifies the existence of the Self Defense Forces (SDF) to defend the nation in the event it ever comes under attack. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to change that by amending the constitution to codify the status quo.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Robichon
Checks, balances and referendums
While Abe has the two-thirds majority in parliament to vote through constitutional changes, he vowed not to do so. In order to amend the constitution – which has never occurred since its inception – both legislative chambers need to pass it with two-thirds of the vote. Afterwards, it is put to a national referendum, which only requires a simple majority in favor for it to be accepted.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/R.A. de Guzman
Pacifist ideals endure
While public opinion is split on whether to revise the constitution, few voters see it as a priority. Most polls have shown that Japanese voters want to keep the country's pacifist ideals as they are enshrined in the constitution. In a poll for the top-selling Yomiuri newspaper, only 35 percent of respondents wanted Abe to recognize Japan's military, while 42 percent said they opposed the idea.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jue
Political divide
Even with support from his party and like-minded conservatives, Abe faces many hurdles to execute his vision. There are even differences among pro-change lawmakers on what the changes might look like. But that hasn't fazed Abe. "I have renewed my determination to secure people's lives and peaceful living, no matter what," said Abe after his party's victory at the polls.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
6 images1 | 6
That text, imposed by the victorious US occupiers after the war, forces Japan to "forever renounce war" and insists that armed forces "never be maintained" by Japan.
Other Japanese prime ministers have sought to alter the text. They include Abe's own grandfather, who viewed the constitution as a humiliation that was forced on Japan in light of its wartime defeat.
Abe has said the changes would merely end a paradox by which, under the constitution, Japan's well-equipped Self-Defense Forces should technically not exist.
Since he came to power in 2013, the prime minister's "Abenomics" brand of monetary policy, spending and structural reform have helped reflate growth. However, critics have said the reforms came up short, and Abe has been implicated in a number of cronyism and cover-up scandals.
"I'm determined to build a new country together with you," Abe said on the eve of the election on Wednesday. "I promise to take the lead in handing over a proud and hopeful Japan to younger generations."
Abe is now pledging to reform social security by raising the retirement age to above 65, and making it easier for people to remain in the workforce.
The vote puts Abe on course to beat the record of Taro Katsura as the longest-serving prime minister. Katsura, a revered politician, served three times intermittently between 1901 and 1913.
