Japan's Vice Prime Minister (and Finance Minister) Taro Aso Says "Learn from Nazis" When It Comes to Changing the Constitution

I suspect Mr. Aso is going to claim his remark was taken totally out of context.

From Nikkei Shinbun, quoting Kyodo News (7/30/2013):

麻生太郎副総理兼財務相は29日夜、都内で講演し、憲法改正をめぐり戦前ドイツのナチス政権時代に言及する中で「ドイツのワイマール憲法はいつの間にか変わっていた。誰も気がつかない間に変わった。あの手口を学んだらどうか」と述べた。「けん騒の中で決めないでほしい」とし、憲法改正は静かな環境の中で議論すべきだと強調する文脈の中で発言した。

Taro Aso, Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister, gave a lecture in Tokyo in the evening of July 29. Regarding the revision of the Japanese Constitution, Mr. Aso referred to the Nazis Germany before the World War II and said, "The constitution of Germany's Weimar Republic [the Weimar Constitution] was changed unnoticed. It was changed before anyone was aware. We could learn from that technique." He also said, "[Change of the Japanese Constitution] shouldn't be decided in turmoil", and his remark [about Nazi Germany and Weimar Republic Constitution] was in the context that the changing the Constitution should be discussed in a calm environment.

According to wiki, the Weimar Constitution "technically remained in effect throughout the existence of the Third Reich from 1933 to 1945":

Hitler's subversion of the Weimar Constitution

Less than a month after Adolf Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in 1933, the Reichstag Fire Decree invoked Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, suspending several constitutional protections on civil rights. The articles affected were 114 (habeas corpus), 115 (inviolability of residence), 117 (correspondence privacy), 118 (freedom of expression /censorship), 123 (assembly), 124 (associations), and 153 (expropriation).
The subsequent Enabling Act, passed by the Reichstag on March 23, 1933, stated that, in addition to the traditional method of the Reichstag passing legislation, the Reich government could also pass legislation. It further stated that the powers of the Reichstag, Reichsrat and Reich President were not affected. The normal legislative procedures outlined in Articles 68 to 77 of the constitution did not apply to legislation promulgated by the Reich government.

The Enabling Act was effectively a constitutional amendment because of the foregoing alterations to the normal legislative process. The act met the constitutional requirements (two-thirds of the Reichstag's members were present, and two-thirds of the members present voted in favor of the measure). The Act did not explicitly amend the Weimar Constitution, but there was explicit mention to the fact that the procedure sufficient for constitutional reform was followed. The constitution of 1919 was never formally repealed, but the Enabling Act meant that all its other provisions were a dead letter.

Two, and possibly three, of the penultimate acts Hitler took to consolidate his power in 1934 actually violated the Enabling Act. Article 2 of the act stated that

'Laws enacted by the government of the Reich may deviate from the constitution as long as they do not affect the institutions of the Reichstag and the Reichsrat. The rights of the President remain undisturbed.'

However, on 14 February, the Reichsrat was abolished even though Article 2 explicitly protected the existence of that body. It can be argued that the Enabling Act had been breached two weeks earlier on 30 January, when the Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich transferred the states' powers to the Reich and rendered the Reichstat obsolete. Hindenburg died on 2 August, and Hitler appropriated the president's powers for himself in accordance with a law passed the previous day. However, in 1932 the constitution had been amended to make the president of the High Court of Justice, not the chancellor, acting president pending new elections. Nonetheless, the Enabling Act did not specify any recourse that could be taken if the chancellor violated Article 2, and no judicial challenge was ever mounted.

Instead of referring to Weimar Republic, Aso could have referred to Japan's ally the United States. The surveillance state under NSA is not exactly what the country fought the war of independence against England for, but here it is, before anyone is fully aware, the Constitution has been subverted, or for pro-NSA surveillance people, "updated" to meet the needs of modern times.

I may also add that Mr. Aso wants to become Prime Minister again, just like Mr. Abe has done. He thinks Abe's health problems will get him again sooner or later.

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Japanese Upper House Election: Taro Yamamoto Won Seat in Tokyo With 4th Highest Votes, Communist Party Increased Seats Significantly

LDP and Komei won 76 seats together, bringing the overall number of seats in the Upper House (including the seats not contested this time) to 135, well past the simple majority of 121. DPJ collapsed from pre-election 44 to only 17, even though it is still the 2nd largest party overall.

It was almost funny to see the media, both newspapers and TV, keep telling the voters throughout the day and evening on July 21 (the election day) that the voter turnout was going to be so low that it would be the record-low. Here's Mainichi, saying the voter turnout as of 6PM was only 32.64%, and it was low across the nation. However, Yomiuri reports that the final turnout two hours later at 8PM was 52%. It is still low, but above 50% and not the record-low like the media has been telling the voters. It seems 20% of voters showed up in the last two hours of voting, except for places where the voting was finished earlier (35% of all voting stations nationwide).

Anyhow... Here's the election results, per Asahi Shinbun (English labels are by me):

And the results of Tokyo, per Yomiuri Shinbun, showing Taro Yamamoto close 4th after a Japanese Communist Party candidate (a 30-year-old woman), beating an experienced LDP politician (who still won the seat) and beating a DPJ candidate who was supported by many "famous" and "well-known" people but couldn't win the seat:

What's not so good is this, also from Asahi - overall numbers of Upper House Councilors of each party. To LDP and Komei, add Boy-wonder's Japan Restoration Party and Your Party whose policies are hardly different from those of LDP; you get the two-thirds majority, enough to change the Constitution. Abe has already declared that what he is going to do, now that he has the "mandate", having won both Houses of the Diet.

For sure, Komei Party says it is against the radical change of the Constitution as proposed by LDP, but it still wants to modify certain clauses. There are DPJ politicians who are for changing the Constitution.

After the win of Yamamoto was confirmed, I was surprised to see some of the influential experts on Twitter resorted to propagating totally false information about Yamamoto. They are people who think the fear of radioactive contamination in Japan and particularly in Fukushima Prefecture is way overblown. As far as I have followed, they have so far not resorted to manufacturing a lie about people they do not agree with, and they are usually the ones who appreciate accuracy in data.

But not this time. One such expert tweeted that Taro Yamamoto is "racist" (against people in Fukushima, he means; at least he doesn't use the transliterated katakana word) because Yamamoto just said in an NHK interview that the agricultural produce in Fukushima was nuclear waste. Yamamoto said no such thing, as it turned out. He said 100 Bq/kg contamination had been considered nuclear waste until the Fukushima accident, and after the Fukushima accident it is the safety limit for food.

I have problems myself with some of Yamamoto's opinions and understanding of things, but I didn't expect these experts to manufacture a lie like this to attack someone they don't agree with.

The other phenom in the election, Yohei Miyake, didn't win in the proportional representation part of the election for the Green Party, but he got over 150,000 votes (the highest in the Green Party). He has declared he will run again in three years in the Upper House election, and says he's glad his movement contributed to the win by Yamamoto.

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Bloomberg News: "Japan’s Abenomics Haunted by Ghost of General MacArthur"

The prime minister of Japan　who likes to play tank commander wants to change the Article 96 of the Japanese Constitution as the first step to rewrite the entire Constitution which he and his cohort firmly believe was pressed on to unwilling Japan by the US occupation army (known as GHQ in Japan) under General Douglas MacArthur (whose nicknames included "Gaijin Shogun").

What's the Article 96? It's about Constitutional amendment requiring two-thirds of each House of the National Diet. Abe's LDP and two other so-called opposition parties including the boy-wonder's Japan Restoration Party want to make it a simple majority.

From the English version of the Japanese Constitution, from Prime Minister's Office website:

Article 96. Amendments to this Constitution shall be initiated by the Diet, through a concurring vote of two-thirds or more of all the members of each House and shall thereupon be submitted to the people for ratification, which shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of all votes cast thereon, at a special referendum or at such election as the Diet shall specify.

Amendments when so ratified shall immediately be promulgated by the Emperor in the name of the people, as an integral part of this Constitution.

Of course, in order to amend the Article 96, Abe needs two-thirds of both Houses, which he think is totally feasible. There is even a talk of simultaneous elections of the Upper and Lower Houses in July.

Abe's first target after they successfully ditch the two-third requirement in the Article 96 will be the complete rewrite of the Article 9 "Renunciation of War".

As it exists:

RENUNCIATION OF WAR

Article 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

According to the LDP's draft, Abe wants to change this into (my translation from the LDP draft and existing Article 9):

Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation, and the threat or use of force won't be used as means of settling international disputes.

and ditch the second half entirely, insert "the right of collective self-defense" instead so that Abe can send Japanese soldiers to fight alongside the "allies" even if Japan is not being attacked, and create a new clause that defines "National Defense Forces"

The bellicose noise, with the photo of Abe saluting (sort of) from the tank, is getting loud enough that even the foreign media has started to write about the worries over Abe's push for changing the Constitution.

From Bloomberg News (5/1/2013; emphasis is mine):

Japan’s Abenomics Haunted by Ghost of General MacArthur

By Isabel Reynolds & Takashi Hirokawa

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s drive to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution for the first time risks alienating voters who support his economic agenda and dividing his coalition government before July elections.

Abe aims to make it easier to amend the constitution, a first step in plans to beef up the military at a time when Japan is mired in territorial disputes with China and South Korea. His Liberal Democratic Party is forecast to win the upper house race, potentially giving him the two-thirds majority in both chambers needed to alter the charter.

Overhauling a document imposed by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur’s occupation force after World War II has been a goal of LDP politicians, including Abe’s grandfather, since the party was founded in 1955. While polls show the public backs Abenomics, his strategy to resuscitate the world’s third-largest economy after more than a decade of deflation, a majority of voters don’t rate constitutional revision as a priority.

“The growth strategy can only be accomplished with sustained attention,” said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo. “It’s a monumental task in its own right. If he takes up more nationalistic causes and Abenomics is not looking good, this could lead to a loss of authority after the election.”

...

Abe backs an LDP proposal to alter the constitution so it asserts the right to possess armed forces for self-defense. To implement that, he is first seeking to change Article 96 of the charter to allow amendments to be made with a simple majority in each house, rather than the current two-thirds. Any revision must also face a public referendum.

“Constitutional change is coming closer to reality,” Abe told reporters on April 19. “I want to change Article 96 to put the constitution back in the hands of the people.”

While 50 percent of the public approves of Abe’s policies to boost growth, only 6 percent favor his bid to change the constitution, according to an April 16 Asahi newspaper poll. A survey in the Mainichi newspaper six days later found 7 percent of respondents picked the constitution as the most important issue in the upper house election, compared with 35 percent for the economy. None of the newspaper surveys provided a margin of error.

“The constitution is different from any other law,” said Setsu Kobayashi, a law professor at Keio University in Tokyo who favors constitutional change while opposing Abe’s plan. “Every country makes it hard to amend, because a nation’s foundations should not flip over with every passing hysteria.”

...

The LDP draft would also make it a “duty” not to damage the “public interest” or interfere with “public order.” The clause has sparked concern with junior coalition partner New Komeito, which is backed by a pacifist Buddhist sect. While a Yomiuri survey published today shows almost all LDP lawmakers favor changing Article 96, Komeito wants to keep the existing constitution and add new rights for citizens, according to the party’s policy chief Keiichi Ishii.

“Our understanding is that a constitution is intended to allow citizens to limit the powers of the state,” Ishii said. “It seems odd to include duties.”

Komeito has a loyal vote-gathering system that has benefited the LDP, said Steven Reed, a professor of political science at Chuo University in Tokyo. The party, which has supported the LDP for more than a decade, has 31 members in the 480-seat lower house and 19 in the 242-seat upper chamber.

“If Komeito left the coalition, the LDP would be in deep trouble,” Reed said. “That takes a lot of votes away from their pockets.”

(Full article at the link)

I think Abe knows his so-called three-prong economic strategy will end in disaster. What better backup plan than war to deflect the public anger over the economic failure?

If Abe and LDP get their way, there will be no "eternal and inviolable" fundamental human rights in Japan (Article 11). You will have to behave, in order to be allowed such rights by the government.

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Japan's Abe Mimics US, Will Force Bank of Japan to Have Job Creation Mandate, Modify Constitution to Send SDF to Foreign Wars

It never enters the mind of the pork-cutlet-over-curry-rice 3rd-generation prime minister of Japan that what he is doing is　a lap or two behind. He thinks he is ahead of the curve.

From Nikkei Shinbun's exclusive interview (1/10/2013) with PM Abe on his economic policies which are collectively dubbed as "Abenomics" in Japan, by an uncritical reporter who does not ask tough questions (for that matter, any question):

Role of Bank of Japan:

「実体経済にも責任を持ってほしい。雇用を最大化することも頭に入れてもらいたい」と述べ、金融政策を通じて雇用拡大に努めるべきだとの認識を示した。為替水準に関して「日本は為替によって競争力を失っていた。（円高を）是正するのは政府と中央銀行の責任だ。努力し続けなければならない」

"I want [Bank of Japan] to be responsible for the real economy. They should keep maximum employment mandate in mind," Abe said, indicating his thoughts that [BOJ] has to strive for increasing employment through financial policies. As to the foreign exchange, he said "Japan has lost competitiveness because of the foreign exchange. It is the responsibility of the government and the central bank to correct (a strong yen). We have to keep trying."

日銀との連携を強化する仕組みとして「協定を文書として取りまとめたい」と表明。共同文書に２％の物価上昇率目標を明記する考えを強調した。２％の達成時期は「世界の多くの国では時期を明記していない。ただ長期はあり得ない。長期というのは目標でも何でもない」

As to the mechanism of cooperation with BOJ, he said "I want to formalize the agreement." He said he would include the 2% inflation target in the joint communique. As to when the 2% target will be achieved, he said "In many counties in the world, there is no date given. However, it cannot be long. If it takes long, it's not a target at all."

日銀が２％の物価上昇率目標を達成できなかった場合、諮問会議で「日銀が説明責任を果たしていくことになる」

If BOJ cannot achieve the 2% inflation target, "BOJ will have to explain" in the advisory board meeting.

首相が日銀に雇用最大化を求めたのは、米連邦準備理事会（ＦＲＢ）が根拠法で「物価の安定」と並び「雇用の最大化」を義務付けられていることが念頭にあるとみられる。

The reason why the prime minister demands maximum employment [mandate] for BOJ is the US Federal Reserve Board, whose mandates are "price stability" and "maximum employment".

Successor to Governor Shirakawa:

「２％の物価安定目標、雇用最大化について日銀が決定的な役割を果たす考え方を十分理解する方で、実行力と国際社会に対するアピール力も必要だろう」

"It has to be someone who fully understands the idea that Bank of Japan should play a decisive role in stable [inflation] target of 2% and maximum employment. The person also needs to be a man of action who will impress others in the international arena."

Japanese Constitution (Article 9):

政府が憲法解釈で禁じている集団的自衛権の行使については「今月中にも（第１次安倍政権で発足した）懇談会の結論を正式に首相として受け取り、さらに検討を深めてもらいたい」と、行使容認に向けた具体的な検討を進める方針を明らかにした。

As to exercising the right of collective self-defense which the government has interpreted as "not allowed", Abe said "I will officially receive the conclusion by the discussion group (which was established during the 1st Abe administration), and I want the group to further discuss", indicating his policy to come up with concrete steps to allow the exercise of the right.

Abe is probably unaware that it is rare for a central bank to have dual mandates like the US Federal Reserve. ECB's mandate is interest rate stability, and nothing else. I was extremely disappointed to see Governor Shirakawa of BOJ immediately folded after Abe became the prime minister and agreed to have the inflation target. I guess Mr. Shirakawa wanted to serve out his term, which will end in April 18.

I had to laugh when I read "man of action". Like him, I suppose, who can gobble up pork cutlet over rice curry in 3 minutes.

As to high yen hurting the economy, it was not very long time ago that Japan was roundly accused of manipulating the currency at extremely low level to gain export advantage.

Just like Bernanke and most Federal Reserve governors, Abe thinks it is possible to manufacture steadily rising 2% inflation. I guess he's right. The US core inflation does not include food and energy anyway, and those are the two items that have gone up significantly under Bernanke's printing press, particularly in the past 4 years.

Just like the US Obama administration eager to ditch the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, Japan's LDP has been itching to modify the Article 9 so that Japan can jump into action when an ally is attacked by a hostile force and attack the aggressor even when Japan itself is not attacked (right of collective self-defense). So whenever the US soldiers in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. are attacked, the SDF soldiers will get to go and use live ammunition? How exciting it must be for a chicken hawk like Abe.

I have a suspicion that most Japanese do not understand what the "right of collective self-defense" actually means. They may be thinking it is a right to collectively defend their country. If they are not curious enough to know what it really means, I'd have to say they deserve what they get.

There is also a long article at Nikkei site that covers the entire interview, but as soon as I started to take a look my head started to hurt because of his sheer, utter economic ignorance. If you read Japanese, the link is this (you have to sign up (free) to read the whole article).

From what I could tolerate to read the long article, Abe says he will going to somehow force companies to pay more salaries to workers. That will drive the companies that still remain in Japan out.

Lunacy that has been with Japan for the past 20-plus years has just got out of proportion, if that's possible. ("My kind of place" must be the thinking at Goldman Sachs, though.)

In both Nikkei articles, there is not a single word about the nuclear accident, radiation contamination, or even the recovery in the disaster affected areas.

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Victorious Abe's Priority: Amend Constitution So That Only a Majority Vote Is Needed to Amend It

The LDP president who can fast-eat curry and rice with pork cutlet on top, who can steal a seat from a senior citizen on JR train and pretend he's asleep after scolding him for scolding him, and a third-generation politician whose grandfather, having been arrested as "Class-A war criminal" after the World War II, was somehow escaped execution and later became the prime minister of Japan, wants to change the Japanese Constitution.

Why? Because he wants his cabinet to be the one to break through the crisis. (Whatever that means.)

Why does that have anything to do with changing the Constitution? Who knows. Because he can, probably. With two-third majority in the Lower House, his party can override any objection from the Upper House which is dominated by the opposition.

Specifically, he wants to first change the Article 96 of the Japanese Constitution, which says (in original English, from Prime Minister's Office website; emphasis is mine):

Article 96. Amendments to this Constitution shall be initiated by the Diet, through a concurring vote of two-thirds or more of all the members of each House and shall thereupon be submitted to the people for ratification, which shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of all votes cast thereon, at a special referendum or at such election as the Diet shall specify.
Amendments when so ratified shall immediately be promulgated by the Emperor in the name of the people, as an integral part of this Constitution.

According to Yomiuri Shinbun (12/18/2012), Abe wants to ditch this, and make it so that only a simple majority is needed to amend the Constitution. If he wants, he can ditch the national referendum part with his party's two-third majority in the Lower House.

Good luck, Japan, because it's only the beginning. His pet plan for the Constitution reads like a horror story for those who believe there is something to be said about "fundamental human rights" and "inalienable rights" of citizens.

For a start, the proud ideal expressed in the Foreword that positions Japan to "occupy an honored place in an international society striving for the preservation of peace, and the banishment of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance for all time from the earth" will be ditched in its entirety under Abe's plan.

The rest is too depressing for me to elaborate right now, but suffice to say Abe wants to reduce the Constitution to a mere LDP party manifest. His "amended" constitution reads just like one, an election manifest to be ditched as convenience dictates. More I read, it is not even an election manifest. It is more like an announcement by a municipal government to the residents, telling them their water may stop due to construction.

It may not be long that anyone who insists on adherence to the Constitution will be branded as "terrorists".

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Japanese Politicians' Logic on Why Recovery Is Slow: It's Because of the Constitution Imposed by the US!

A group of politicians headed by the very person (Yasuhiro Nakasone) who was instrumental in introducing the nuclear energy in the post-World-War-II Japan has declared that the slow recovery from the March 11, 2011 disaster is because of the Japan's Constitution.

The Japanese Constitution was drafted by the officers at GHQ under General Douglas MacArthur and translated into Japanese and enacted in 1947. Hawks like Nakasone have been itching to scrap the Constitution that has "the Article 9" (renunciation of war).

From Jiji Tsushin (5/1/2012):

復興遅れ、憲法に原因＝超党派議員

Slow recovery stems from the Constitution, says a nonpartisan group of politicians

　超党派の新憲法制定議員同盟（会長・中曽根康弘元首相）は１日、都内の憲政記念館で「新しい憲法を制定する推進大会」を開いた。現行憲法が縦割り行政の温床になっているとの観点から「東日本大震災からの復興の遅れの根本原因は現行憲法にある」として、改憲に向けて国民的議論を盛り上げていくことをうたった決議を採択した。

The Alliance for Enacting the New Constitution, a nonpartisan group of politicians headed by former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone met in the Parliamentary Museum on May 1 to promote the enactment of the new constitution. The group sees the current Constitution as a hotbed of the vertically segmented administrative system. It passed the resolution declaring "The fundamental cause of delay in the recovery from the March 11, 2011 disaster is the current Constitution" and that the group would promote the national debate toward constitutional amendment.

The group like this, or the one headed by the boy-wonder mayor of Osaka City, do not want to amend the Constitution. They want to ditch it completely.

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