Over 50 percent of respondents in a recent Mainichi Shimbun opinion poll said there is no need to rush discussion on constitutional amendment in the Diet, as opposed to the 35 percent who wanted the Diet to speed up debate on the issue.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for putting the issue of constitutional revision on the table in his policy speech at the outset of the regular Diet session that convened on Jan. 20, saying, "Let's move forward to have in-depth discussion at the Commissions on the Constitution (at both houses of the Diet) to present a draft amendment to the people" as the pro-amendment camp has a two-thirds majority in both houses, enough to initiate constitutional revisions. However, 56 percent of pollees in the Mainichi Shimbun survey conducted on Jan. 21 and 22 said they see no need to rush the process. Even among those who support the Cabinet of Prime Minister Abe, 48 percent told the survey that the constitutional amendment debate does not have to be rushed, while 44 percent said it should.
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