Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, after a convincing election victory that gave her Liberal Democratic Party a two-thirds majority in parliament, is preparing to attempt to revise the constitution and temporarily abolish the value-added tax on food, in line with campaign promises, the Japan Times (JT) newspaper reported today.
The popular Japanese prime minister, who often talks about doing things as if they were urgent, must now deal with the complex details surrounding the two promises, which will require a lot of time for debate and compromise, according to JT.
Takaichi sees the revision of the constitution as a matter of the nation's fate, and the parliamentary majority as a unique opportunity to adapt the constitution to Japan's future, writes the British newspaper Financial Times (FT).
The prime minister's party, which has led the country for most of the past seven decades, was founded with a particular focus on amending the constitution, which was imposed on Japan by the United States during its occupation after World War II.
Previous attempts to amend the constitution, focused on Article Nine, which establishes Japan as a pacifist country without an offensive army, have failed.
The strongest attempt was made by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister Takaichi's mentor, who failed to secure a vote in parliament.
In addition to the support of two-thirds of MPs, the changes also need to be supported by a majority of citizens through a referendum.
The FT reports that interest among the Japanese in constitutional amendments that would allow their country to transform its current defense forces into a full-fledged army is very low.
A particular problem is the possible reaction of China, with which Japan is in dispute over Prime Minister Takaichi's words about Taiwan last November, to which China reacted sharply.
She told the Japanese parliament that armed attacks on Taiwan could justify sending the Japanese military to defend the island, under provisions on “collective self-defense” in a Japanese law passed in 2015.
The Japanese Prime Minister's economic measures will not be without obstacles either.
There are concerns within the LDP about how Takaichi intends to finance his economic policies, particularly the temporary abolition of VAT on food, and there is no consensus on the best way to fulfill this campaign promise, writes JP.
Abolition would mean a loss of revenue of about five trillion yen (about 27 billion euros) per year, which provides about 40 percent of local government finances for social security, healthcare and pensions.
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