Tokyo: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed today to press on with his controversial
move to amend Japan's pacifist constitution, undeterred by a political
scandal that has dented his popularity.
Abe's political capital
is dwindling due to a widening scandal over the cut-price sale of
government land to one of his supporters, with the opposition suggesting
his wife Akie may have played a role.
The scandal worsened when
finance ministry bureaucrats admitted altering official records of the
sales, erasing references to Abe and his wife as well as other political
figures.
"I will thoroughly investigate and show the whole
picture of what happened," Abe told the annual meeting of the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party.
"And I will fulfil my duty by
rebuilding the (government) organisation so that this will not happen
again," he said, reiterating his resolve to stay in power.
Abe has denied any involvement by him or his wife in the case but protesters have staged rallies across the nation.
His approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since his return to power at the end of 2012.
National
attention is turning to parliamentary testimony scheduled for Tuesday
by Nobuhisa Sagawa, formerly the head of the finance ministry department
that oversaw the land deal.
Despite his fading popularity, Abe
told the party gathering he was committed to changing the constitution,
imposed by the United States on the defeated nation after World War II.
Abe
said he wants to end the debate over the constitutionality of Japan's
military, officially known as the Self-Defence Forces (SDF). The
constitution says Japan renounces war and will not maintain land, sea or
air forces.
Scholars have long argued about whether the existence of the SDF is constitutional.
The
military is well regarded by the general public, and there is
widespread acceptance of the government's traditional view that they
should be used only for self-defence.
Abe, however, in 2015
expanded the role of the Japanese forces to include the defence of
friendly nations, prompting protests from scholars and voters alike that
the change violated the constitution.
"Now is the time to reform the constitution," said Abe. "Let us end this unconstitutionality debate.
