Tokyo
It's what smart politicians do. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a snap election, which was held here yesterday. Typhoon Lan constrained voter turnout. Nonetheless, it looks like Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (in a bloc with the Komeito Party) may garner enough seats in the Diet's Lower House to call for a referendum changing this nation's Constitution, originally crafted by occupying General Douglas MacArthur more than 70 years ago.
If Abe sees yesterday's vote as a public mandate, he may set in motion his desire to remilitarize Japan. Currently, Japan's Constitution prohibits building its military beyond a so-called Self-Defense Force, which itself is pretty potent. There are major pros and cons to a remilitarized Japan worth debating another day. That said, doing so should be the choice of the Japanese people.
Abe's political acumen stands in sharp contrast to U.K. Theresa May's astonishingly poor choice to call her own snap election earlier this year. She ultimately weakened her hand in Parliament as a result and made any effort to implement the Brexit debacle even more perilous. May and Abe mark the difference between a politician new to the top rung of the ladder and a seasoned veteran like Abe.
It's what smart politicians do. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a snap election, which was held here yesterday. Typhoon Lan constrained voter turnout. Nonetheless, it looks like Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (in a bloc with the Komeito Party) may garner enough seats in the Diet's Lower House to call for a referendum changing this nation's Constitution, originally crafted by occupying General Douglas MacArthur more than 70 years ago.
If Abe sees yesterday's vote as a public mandate, he may set in motion his desire to remilitarize Japan. Currently, Japan's Constitution prohibits building its military beyond a so-called Self-Defense Force, which itself is pretty potent. There are major pros and cons to a remilitarized Japan worth debating another day. That said, doing so should be the choice of the Japanese people.
Abe's political acumen stands in sharp contrast to U.K. Theresa May's astonishingly poor choice to call her own snap election earlier this year. She ultimately weakened her hand in Parliament as a result and made any effort to implement the Brexit debacle even more perilous. May and Abe mark the difference between a politician new to the top rung of the ladder and a seasoned veteran like Abe.
Photo courtesy of the BBC.