Hazardous views on Constitution : think clean LDP says

How to translate freedom into Japanese language? Read
the LDP dictionnary publication first... Who said
nationalism was a rising value in the archipelago? The
interesting is that the article seems not to disagree!?!

Quotes :

"A Liberal Democratic Party panel is considering
restricting such basic freedoms as that of assembly and
expression in its draft proposal for a new Constitution,
sources said Monday.

According to the sources, the idea was included in a
list of discussion points compiled by Hajime Funada, who
heads the subpanel of the LDP's constitutional drafting
committee in charge of studying issues related to the
rights and obligations of citizens.

The memo, submitted to the subcommittee Thursday, says,
"It should be permissible by law to restrict or ban the
publication or sale of books that have a detrimental
effect on young people's upbringing" -- an apparent
reference to obscene books or videos.

It also says "there should be restrictions on the
forming of associations whose aim is to gravely damage
the state or social order."

Further, the paper emphasizes the obligations of
citizens to defend the country, protect their families
and the environment, and respect life, even at the
expense of individual freedoms.

Concerning the current Article 20, which guarantees
freedom of religion and bans religious organizations
from receiving any privileges from the state or
exercising political authority, the memo said
authorities can be involved in Shinto ceremonies and
fund them from public coffers, "as they are not acts
that aim to support any particular religion and are
within the bounds of accepted social protocol."

This idea could pave the way for making visits by the
prime minister to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
constitutional. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
repeated visits there, where Class-A war criminals are
also honored, have damaged bilateral ties with China and
other Asian neighbors.

According to a senior member of the subcommittee,
members generally agree with the views expressed in the
memo.

Meanwhile, another LDP subpanel proposed Monday that the
Constitution's preamble reflect Japanese history and the
national character of the Japanese people, party
lawmakers said.

This subcommittee, headed by former Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone, agreed that the new preamble should
be written in 500 to 600 characters to be memorized by
students as part of their compulsory education, the
lawmakers said.

The interim report calls for specifying Japan's vision
as a country, stipulating principles of pacifism and
international cooperation, they said.

The subcommittee plans to compile a draft of the new
preamble before mid-March.

The current Constitution, which took effect in May 1947,
was drafted by the U.S.-led Allied Occupation forces in
hopes of democratizing Japan and ensuring it would not
revive as a militarist state after the end of World War
II.

The panel will compile a draft of the Constitution
revision bill by the end of April based on the
subcommittees' reports.

end of quotes