Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution Referendum is a referendum that was expected to take place in 2020. In May 2017, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set a 2020 deadline for revising Article 9, which would legitimize the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the Japanese constitution. [1] [2] [3] [4] Abe and his Cabinet resigned in September 2020, due to Abe's health problems. [5] Under his successor Yoshihide Suga, parliament revised referendum law in June 2021 to make it easier to vote by allowing temporary voting station. The move was considered as a step toward the possibility of the constitutional referendum taking place. [6] Kishida renewed calls for the referendum in May 2023. [7]
Date | Firm | Yes | No | Undecided | Lead | Sample size | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 March – 11 April 2022 | Kyodo News poll [8] | 50% | 48% | 2% | |||
13 May 2021 | The Asahi Shimbun poll [9] | 45% | 44% | 1% | |||
18 April 2021 | Mainichi Shimbun poll [10] | 48% | 31% | 17% | |||
2019 | [11] | 40% | 54% | 14% | |||
2017 | Kyodo News poll [12] | 49% | 47% | 2% | |||
2017 | Asahi poll [13] | 29% | 63% | 34% | |||
2017 | NHK poll [12] | 25% | 57% | 32% | |||
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. The Constitution was drafted following the surrender of Japan in World War II. It came into effect on 3 May 1947 during the occupation of Japan by the Allies, which lasted until 28 April 1952. In its text, the state formally renounces the sovereign right of belligerency and aims at an international peace based on justice and order. The article also states that, to accomplish these aims, armed forces with war potential will not be maintained. The Constitution was imposed by U.S. military occupation to prevent rearmament of Japan in the post–World War II period.
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