A recent Kyodo News poll found 60 per cent of respondents said the Japanese Constitution should not be altered, while 32 per cent called for changing it, at a time when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pursuing amending the fundamental law.
The percentage of people who support maintaining the Constitution rose from 55 per cent in a July 1994 poll by the Japan Association for Public Opinion Research, when 34 per cent said it should be changed.
The figures indicate citizens who hope to see no changes to the Constitution may have increased despite the Abe administration’s efforts to change it.
The government changed the interpretation of the Constitution in July last year to allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defence, or use force for defending an ally. National security bills to materialize the change are currently being deliberated in the Diet.
The Constitution’s commendable feature cited most frequently by respondents hoping to see the basic law remain unchanged was its war renunciation and pacifism, chosen by 88 per cent, followed by respect for basic human rights picked by 51 per cent. Respondents were allowed to choose up to two options.
The war renunciation and pacifism, meanwhile, was a problematic feature cited most frequently by those who say the basic law should be changed. Thirty-six per cent of them chose the alternative, followed by 34 per cent who viewed the Allied occupation force’s drafting of the Constitution for Japan as problematic.
Kyodo News implemented the mail-based poll from May to June to look into public opinion 70 years after World War II ended with Japan’s defeat. In the poll, 63.2 per cent of 3,000 randomly selected adults sent back responses.
Those who directly experienced the war were limited to 6 per cent of the respondents.
Forty-nine per cent of the respondents viewed the war as a “war of aggression” and 9 per cent as a “war of self-defence.” But 41 per cent offered no opinion on whether the war was for aggression or self-defence.
In the poll, 67 per cent said Prime Minister Abe should offer an apology for Japan’s colonial rule and aggression before and during the war in his planned statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
The percentage compares with 30 per cent seeing no necessity for such an apology.
His predecessors Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi offered such an apology in the 50th and 60th war-end anniversary statements, respectively. Abe is reported to be reluctant to include an apology in his statement.
In the poll, 28 per cent of the respondents said Japan has made a sufficient apology to neighbouring countries for suffering inflicted by Japan on them before the end of the war. Another 54 per cent said an apology was made to some extent.
Of the total respondents, 55 per cent said the prime minister should visit Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honours convicted Japanese war criminals along with millions of war dead. The percentage surpassed 43 per cent against the top Japanese leader’s visit to the shrine, to which China and South Korea have raised opposition.
The most frequently cited diplomatic priority for Japan was its relationship with other Asian countries, chosen by 42 per cent. More than 70 per cent of respondents said Japan should made efforts to improve its relations with China and South Korea which have soured over recent years.
The most popular among good developments in the 70 years after the war in the poll was Japan’s reconstruction and economic advancement, cited by 55 per cent, followed by the absence of war involving Japan, picked by 54 per cent.
As a problematic development after the war, 30 per cent cited the weakened solidarity of families and local communities and 28 per cent picked environmental destruction.
The poll has also found that 52 per cent viewed Japan as going in a worse direction, surpassing 46 per cent citing a better direction.
The rate of pessimistic responses was higher among younger generations -- 57 per cent among respondents in their 20s or 30s, 54 per cent in their 40s or 50s, and 49 per cent of older respondents.
In addition, 58 per cent of respondents hoping to see the Constitution remain unchanged said they expect Japan is heading in a worse direction.
Also, 66 per cent of people who feel Japan is very likely to be involved in war in the future said the country is heading in a worse direction, as did 56 per cent of those viewing Japan’s future involvement in war as “likely to some extent.”
Photo: Protesters holding anti-war placards rally in front of the Parliament building in Tokyo to protest against the legislation that would expand the role of the nation's military. Photo: AP
South China Morning Post - Associated Press in Tokyo