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Japan's Abe still eyes 'difficult' goal of constitutional revision but not considering 4th term

Xinhua | Updated: 2019-12-13 21:10

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on July 23, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he is not considering seeking another term as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), despite ruling party executives suggesting earlier in the week an extension could help his "difficult" goal of amending the constitution.

"I'm not thinking about a fourth term at all," Abe said at an event in Tokyo when asked about the possibility of extending his current term beyond September 2021.

Earlier in the week, senior executives from the ruling LDP has suggested that Abe extending his term could be a way for him to achieve one of the LDP's "founding principles" and Abe's career-goal of revising the constitution, despite opposition parties' and the public's disinclination for him to do so.

Abe, however, still reiterated his determination to amend Japan's Supreme Charter for the first time since World War II during his current term, calling for opposition parties' cooperation in debating the issue and which articles in the constitution should be amended.

The Japanese premiere maintained, however, the thorny issue of constitutional amendment would be a "difficult one."

"I know it won't be an easy task to amend the constitution. I still have about two years left in the current term, so I'm determined to deliver it," Abe said.

For Abe to achieve his tricky goal of amending the pacifist charter, and, in particular, rewriting Article 9 of the constitution to reference the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), a move widely disapproved of by opposition parties and the public, he would need to secure a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum on the matter.

On Tuesday this week, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said that amending Japan's pacifist charter is the LDP's "founding principle" and as such Abe should not leave the task to his successor.

"If he has no other way, it is natural (for Abe) to come up with a way to deal with the matter," Aso said.

The controversial notion was reiterated by LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai who said separately that if Abe does not make enough progress on the issue before his current term expires, then extending his term could be warranted.

The LDP, however, has already changed its rules to extend the duration of party leaders' tenure from two consecutive three-year terms, to three consecutive three-year terms, with the change coming into effect in 2017.

For Abe's term to be extended, a move the prime minister himself is opposed to, the party would have to change its rules again, against a backdrop of opposition party resistance and public disapproval of the overall constitutional amendment-driven move.

Signaling the difficulty in Abe's quest to revise the charter, the LDP and pro-amendment forces not achieving the two-thirds majority needed in July's upper house election to call a national referendum on the issue dealt a heavy blow to the LDP achieving its "founding principle."

Abe has said that dissolving the lower house to hold a snap election to push for a public mandate on the issue still remains a possibility, but the opposition camp has been gearing up for such an eventuality.

In addition to opposition parties' resistance to changing the constitution, public support for Abe's Cabinet has also dropped of late amid a number of scandals linked to Abe and his Cabinet.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said that according to a recent poll, the approval rate of Abe's Cabinet has dropped two points from last month to 45 percent, while the disapproval rate has increased two points to 37 percent.

Amid a slew of recent scandals, 47 percent of respondents said they do not trust the prime minister, NHK's survey showed.

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