Key Facts
• On April 13, Deputy Secretary-General Hagiuda addressed constitutional amendment plans.
• LDP’s four proposed items: Self-Defense Forces mention, emergency response, electoral district mergers elimination, education enhancement.
• Hagiuda stated no insistence on simultaneous proposal of all four items.
• Constitutional amendment requires two-thirds majority support for proposal.
• Hagiuda suggested advancing with items gaining earlier consensus is possible.
• On April 12, Prime Minister Takaichi mentioned progress toward amendment proposal readiness.
• Hagiuda explained that legal text organization and cross-party agreement are procedural steps ahead.
Summary
Deputy Secretary-General Hagiuda of the Liberal Democratic Party expressed a flexible stance on the party’s constitutional amendment proposal, which includes four key items: explicitly mentioning the Self-Defense Forces, addressing emergency situations, resolving electoral district mergers, and enhancing education. He emphasized that the party does not insist on submitting all four items simultaneously for approval. Given the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority to propose amendments, Hagiuda noted that advancing with items that achieve consensus earlier is a viable option. This approach aims to avoid stagnation if all items do not align perfectly. Additionally, following Prime Minister Takaichi’s remarks on April 12 about nearing readiness for amendment proposal, Hagiuda clarified that organizing the legal text and securing agreement among parties are necessary procedural steps before moving forward.
