Abe's Constitution revision plans will soon take shape
Subject Efforts to amend Japan's Constitution. Significance Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a long-stated ambition to amend Japan's Constitution for the first time since its introduction under US occupation after the Second World War. Abe made a speech last month in which he called on his party to draw up proposals by year-end, and set Tokyo's hosting of the Olympic games in 2020 as a deadline for making the amendment. Impacts The main opposition party will use public opposition to Constitution revision to rally support and differentiate themselves. Discussion of amendments related to the military will strain Tokyo's relations with Seoul and Beijing. Washington will quietly support amendments that make Japan more useful as a military ally. Large public protests are likely and could weaken Abe's apparently unassailable leadership of his party and country.