As Japan marked 79 years since the enactment of its Constitution on Sunday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signaled a renewed push to amend Article 9, the pacifist clause renouncing war, calling for decision-focused parliamentary debate on revising the nation¡¯s postwar charter and declaring an end to empty arguments.
¡°Debate cannot be for debate¡¯s sake. To meet the responsibility entrusted to us by the public, politicians must engage in discussions that lead to decisions,¡± Takaichi said in a prerecorded video message played at a pro-revision forum.
Without explicitly mentioning Article 9, she said the charter ¡ª unchanged since its enactment in 1947 ¡ª must be updated to reflect today¡¯s international environment and security realities.
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