Japanese Prime Minister signals revision of constitution

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi once again signalled pursuing a revision of the country’s 1947 Constitution, local media reported on Sunday.

Takaichi expressed her intent in a video message to a gathering of revision proponents on Constitution Memorial Day, which falls on May 3, the report by Kyodo News agency said.

She said that the ruling Democratic Party would “advance discussions in the Diet aimed at reaching decisions while securing the cooperation of other parties”, and vowed to explain the potential amendments carefully to the public, it added.

Japan’s current constitution took effect in 1947. It is often referred to as a pacifist constitution because of its Article 9, which renounces war as a sovereign right and prohibits Japan from having “war potential”.

“(It) Should be periodically updated in accordance with the demands of the times,” Takaichi said regarding the postwar supreme law, which serves as the foundation of the country.

Takaichi is pushing for these changes for the first time since the constitution came into effect after World War II.

“Discussion must not be for the sake of discussion alone. What politicians must engage in, in order to fulfil the trust placed in them by the people, is discussion aimed at making decisions,” she said.

The signals to revise the constitution attracted protests in the previous months. In February, people gathered in Tokyo to protest the Prime Minister’s attempt to revise the constitution.

The protestors chanted slogans like “No constitution revision”, “Protect peace”, voicing their dissatisfaction with the decision, Xinhua news agency reported.

Last month at the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) convention, Takaichi said that “we would like to hold next year’s convention with a proposal for a constitutional amendment in sight,” and declared that “the time has come” to reform the constitution.

After being appointed as Japan’s Prime Minister in October 2025, Takaichi, the first woman to hold the post, was reelected in February 2026.

IANS