By Mina Pollmann
With Abe’s U.S. visit over, the next task is getting the domestic security reforms he promised while in Washington.
When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Washington, D.C., last week, he promised the passage of security-related legislation that will help implement the new bilateral defense guidelines, which have been revised for the first time in 18 years, and make the limited exercise of collective self-defense possible within the year. However, this promise has stirred a hornet’s nest back home, where opposition parties are furious that he would make such a pledge even before the proposed legislation has been submitted to the Diet.
Members of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) have already expressed anger at Abe’s disregard for the legislative branch by dictating a timeline. DPJ leader Katsuya Okada condemned Abe, saying, “At a stage when the legislation has not even been submitted, it is unheard-of to make a promise in a foreign nation about the timing for the passage of such important bills. … It shows extreme ignoring of the public and contempt for the Diet.” Other opposition parties, including the Social Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party have also criticized Abe, and even the Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) junior coalition party, seemed to be taken by surprise.
At a multi-partisan event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Takeshi Iwaya (LDP), former senior vice minister for foreign affairs, reemphasized Abe’s target to have the legislation passed by this summer. During his prepared remarks, he did not appear too concerned about domestic political opposition – though he did highlight how the proposed legislation was the culmination of two years of Abe’s developing security policies. Iwaya believes the proposed legislation is important to strengthen deterrence and that Abe is following a “realistic” and “balanced” path in light of the security environment surrounding Japan. Rather than domestic opposition, he was more worried that the legislation may raise expectations too high in the U.S., and cause concerns in neighboring countries.
Read the full story at The Diplomat