LectureThursday 13 June 2013
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Constitutional Reform
Drinks reception: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
13/14 Cornwall Terace, Outer Circle, London, NW1 4QP
Organised by The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
From the 1990s on, most observers thought that Japan was developing in the direction of a UK- or US-style political system based on two main parties. But the Democratic Party of Japan was hammered in the December 2012 Lower House election. With Prime Minister Abe’s popularity currently riding high, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to consolidate its power with additional gains in the Upper House election in July. Is Japan entering into a new period of prolonged LDP dominance?
Elements within the LDP sense that the party’s current strength may offer an historic opportunity to revise Japan’s Constitution, which was imposed by the victorious Allies after the end of World War II. Suggestions range from changing the rules to make future amendments easier, to amending Article 9 (which renounces war), or even drafting a completely new constitution from scratch. Any talk of changing Japan’s “anti-war” Constitution is anathema to at least some of the country’s neighbours, so what are the prospects here?
About the contributors
Professor Kensuke Takayasu
Professor Kensuke Takayasu is Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Law, Seikei University in Tokyo. He received his BA (1994) and MA (1996) both in political science from Waseda University. He read his doctorate at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), gaining his PhD from the University of London in 2003. He became a research fellow at Hokkaido University in 2004, before joining Seikei University as associate professor in 2006. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Department of Government, LSE. Professor Takayasu has written widely on both British and Japanese politics, and has published a book in 2009 titled The Power of Prime Ministers in Japan and Britain – Dynamics of their Relationships with the Governing Party (Tokyo: Sobunsha). His articles appear regularly in Sekai. In 2011, his paper ‘New Conventions Required: Ideas to Re-invigorate Japanese Party Politics’ was published in Asia-Pacific Review (Vol.18 Issue 2), while the website Japan Echo Web (No.7 August-September) carried his article ‘In Need of New Rules of the Game.’