(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's easy victory in Japan's general election has raised hopes of achieving his long-awaited goal: changing the pacifist constitution.
Despite a string of scandals, Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition Komeito Party on Sunday scored a decisive victory in the powerful lower house election, thanks to a fragmented opposition camp.
The hawkish prime minister has long yearned for a constitutional amendment so that Japan could possess full-fledged military forces amid China's arms buildup and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
'It's important to deepen the public's understanding of a constitutional amendment, Abe told broadcaster NHK after the win.
Abe's ruling coalition railroaded a controversial bill in 2015 that allows the Japanese military called 'Self-Defence Forces to fight wars overseas, though many scholars argued the move goes against the constitution.
Article 9 of the charter prohibits the use of force to settle international disputes.
In November, Japanese troops were dispatched to South Sudan for the first time under the new security law to join UN peacekeepers, but they were pulled out in May.
In order to hold a national referendum for the amendment of the constitution, two-thirds or more of the lawmakers in each house need to approve the move.
Then, more than 50% of people's votes are required for ratification in a referendum.
In addition to coalition partner Komeito Party, the LDP could find another ally in parliament this time: the Party of Hope, led by right-wing Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, a former LDP lawmaker who once served as defence minister under Abe.
Koike, who became the first female governor in the Japanese capital in August 2016, acknowledged that her party's foreign and security policies were 'not much different from those of the LDP's.
Main opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Seiji Maehara decided not to field candidates from his party for Sunday's general election.
Instead, he let DP lawmakers run from Koike's party to defeat Abe's ruling bloc.
Koike refused to accept liberal DP members such as former chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano, leading Edano and other DP lawmakers to found the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) on October 2.
They drew strong support from those who back the current war-renouncing constitution and fear Koike's party could join the ruling coalition to go forward a constitutional change following the elections.
Despite the ruling coalition's victory, Abe's cabinet has been unpopular as they railroaded controversial bills and as he failed to explain scandals involving schools related to him and his wife Akie.
The approval rating for his cabinet has dropped to 37% in October from 50% in the previous month, while the disapproval rating rose to 48% from 42%t, a survey by the Nikkei business daily and TV Tokyo showed.
A poll conducted in August by the Kyodo News agency showed 34.5% of those surveyed approved a constitutional amendment under Abe's government, while 53.4% were against the move.
The election outcome is unlikely to change a constitutional amendment issue. The constitutional amendment issue is not the number of seats in the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives. The issue is whether Abe can convince 50% of the voters plus 1 to vote in any referendum for his idea.
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