Debate On The Constitution Revision Of Japan

The Constitution of Japan,which guarantees the human rights of Japanese people,is famous all over the world.For many Japanese,the Constitution is sacred and inviolable.However,others believe that the Constitution is an insult to Japan's sovereignty.In the 21 st century,the revision of the Constitution becomes an important theme in Japanese politics.During Abe's era,people who supported constitution revision once held more than two-thirds of the seats in Diet,Which has drawn international attention.The difficulty of constitutional revision for Abe lies not only in how to make domestic consensus,but also in how to let the international community understand his proposal.The core question of the thesis is whether there is any consensus between Chinese and American scholars on the issue of Japan's Constitution revision,and why there are consensus and differences? The questions need to be solved are: Firstly,what is the Abe's policy to revise the Constitution? Secondly,What is the problem awareness of Chinese and American scholars when focus on the revision of Japanese Constitution? Thirdly,what are the Chinese and American scholars' perceptions of the different stages of the Constitution revision.This thesis argues that,the consensus that both of them do not support Japanese constitution revision only stay over the surface.American scholars believe that due to the vagueness and simplicity of the Constitution,it is the constitutional interpretation,cabinet resolutions,and security bills that determines Japan 's military capabilities,and the political costs of revising the Constitution are too high.Chinese scholars believe that the Constitution of Japan stipulates the upper limit of the development of Japanese military capabilities.Once the Constitution is revised,Japan's security policy may shift from “defensive” to “offensive”.This thesis finds that the reason for the different perceptions between Chinese and American scholars is the different understandings of Japan's role of participating in international security affairs.Chinese scholars believe that the Constitution is a commitment of Japan's peaceful development;while the American scholars regard the deterrence of U.S.-Japan alliance as the key to maintaining order and stability in Northeast Asia.