Battle in the Diet

It is the time for the Diet to have detailed discussion over the policies of Shinzo Abe administration. In the Budget Committee of House of Councillors on Wednesday, new President of Democratic Party, Renho, performed as offender to Abe Cabinet. Target was not only Prime Minister, but some Ministers who supported Abe’s main political agenda. Her colleagues in the party evaluated her that she made a good job.

The focal point of Renho’s question to Abe was constitutional amendment. She asked what was the problem with the Constitution of Japan and how to solve it by the draft of new constitution edited by Liberal Democratic Party. “I am not at the standpoint for discussing constitution, because I am a Prime Minister. I hope Commission on the Constitution in the Houses to thoroughly discuss it,” reiterated Abe. But, Renho did not retreat from the battlefield.

Renho targeted the concept of family in LDP draft. “LDP draft says that families have to help each other. What does that mean?” asked Renho. Abe tried to avoid the attack, saying that he was not in a standpoint about each provision of his party’s constitution draft. It was extremely strange that Prime Minister refused discussing fundamental structure of the state. While refusing to abide by the Constitution by repeating his hope to have new one, Abe escaped from discussing it.

“Do not escape,” accused Renho. “Why do you include family in the draft? Adding family to the history of Article 24 for sexual equality would be retrospective,” she said. “Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis,” says the Article. Renho thought that family provision would restrict freedom of marriage by intervention of parent or relatives. “Family is a unit that makes basis of society or individual life, which meaning may be changed with changes in society,” answered Abe, making no sense.

Renho also targeted Minister of Defense, Tomomi Inada. Inada criticized welfare policy of the administration led by Democratic Party of Japan in the interview of a magazine in 2011. “Which do you choose, defending our nation by ourselves or subsidy for supporting kids?” asked Inada to DPJ administration. She also proposed to possess nuclear weapons as national strategy.

Renho asked if Inada has not changed her mind. “As a Minister of Abe Cabinet, I will keep three non-nuclear principles and do my best to achieve the world without nuclear weapons as an only country suffered from nuclear bombs,” answered Inada, contradicting to her previous opinion. “It is a comfortable proselytism,” Renho said sarcastically. No retaliation was shown.