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フィナンシャル・タイムズ紙のアジア版（5月14日付・電子版）は参議院を通過し成立した国民投票法について要旨次のように報じた。
安倍首相は国民投票法を成立させたことで憲法改定に一歩近づいた。戦争と軍隊を放棄した条項（9条）の改定へ、である。
戦後生まれ初の首相である安倍氏は、自衛隊の再定義（集団的自衛権の問題）に熱心であり、近隣諸国の懸念を引き起こしている。
成立した国民投票法は最低投票率を規定していないとか、投票の有資格者を18歳以上（現在投票権は20歳以上）とするなどの問題を内包したままだが、安倍首相は、今夏予定の参院選でも憲法改定を争点化するとしている。ところが国民の関心は、憲法改定問題よりはむしろ、年金や所得格差の問題にある。
野党関係者の言によれば、憲法改定への道のりはさらに厳しいものがあり、安倍首相の任期内には改定できそうもない、という。
英文記事は次のとおり ⇒
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0132908e-022d-11dc-ac32-000b5df10621.html
moves towards new constitution（The Financial Times）
By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo
Published: May 14 2007 16:23 | Last updated: May 14 2007 16:23
Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, on Monday moved one step closer to fulfilling his vision of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution, with the passing of a law that set out procedures for constitutional amendments.
Japan’s upper house passed the constitutional amendment bill, which will enable amendments to the constitution to be made for the first time since it came into force 60 years ago. The bill had cleared the lower house on April 13.
The new law paves the way for a revision of clauses under which Japan has abandoned the right to wage war or maintain a military.
Mr Abe, who is the first Japanese prime minister to be born after the war, has made constitutional revision a key objective of his tenure as prime minister and has described the country’s pacifist constitution as outdated.
The prime minister is also keen to redefine the role of Japan’s self-defence forces, which have been restricted in their overseas activities by Article 9 of the constitution.
Mr Abe’s moves have triggered concerns among Japan’s neighbours that the country could be about to reassert itself militarily.
Japan’s constitution states that any amendment requires a concurring vote of two-thirds in both houses after which it will need endorsement by a majority vote in a public referendum.
However, there were no clear guidelines on how a referendum was to be held.
Under the new law, which will go into force in three years, Japanese citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote in a constitutional referendum. The age requirement is set lower than the minimum eligible age for voting, which is 20.
But critics say the new law is flawed since it does not set any requirement for minimum voter turnout – a point the opposition has stressed.
The ruling Liberal Democratic party is expected to make constitutional reform a focal point in upper house elections in July, which would be Mr Abe’s first big electoral test since coming to office last September.
However, public debate over the issue has been relatively subdued, with people apparently more concerned about their pensions and the widening income gap. Furthermore, the new law is one step in a process that is likely to take many more years.
“Given that it has taken this long just to get the referendum process legislated, the debate on actually revising the constitution will be tough,” said one opposition staffer.
As such, “constitutional revision is unlikely to happen during Mr Abe’s term”, he said.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
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