Shinzō Abe won. Now what?

Why Abe’s Big Win Matters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have secured a landslide victory for his Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday (10/22/2017) by focusing on the economy and the threat posed by North Korea, the Wall Street Journal’s Alastair Gale reports. But the most far-reaching consequence of the result could be that it helps Abe push forward his pet project of rewriting the country’s pacifist constitution.

“In May this year, on the 70th anniversary of the constitution being imposed by occupying American forces, Mr. Abe said increasing security threats, an aging society and the need for economic revival were among reasons lawmakers should discuss potential changes. He set 2020 as a target for the revision,” Gale writes.

“Mr. Abe’s personal focus -- and the most contentious proposed revision -- is to Article 9 of the document, headed ‘Renunciation of War.’ The clause says Japan won’t maintain armed forces to ensure it will never wage war.

“In reality, Japan’s military was reformed in the 1950s but tasked with a purely defensive role, including disaster relief, and called the Self-Defense Force. National opinion polls show Japanese are highly supportive of the SDF, which is one the world’s most modern militaries.”

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