Kibō no Tō: Party of Hope

The Party of Hope (Kibō no Tō)¹
The Party of Hope's Revised Draft of the Constitution²
January 17, 2019

1. Revision of Article 9

Article 9.
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order for Japan to maintain domestic peace and defend the independence of its own country, keep the country and the people safe, and contribute to the peace and security of international society, Japan shall maintain a Self-Defense Force.
(3) The Prime Minister, representing the cabinet, shall have the supreme authority to control and supervise the Self-Defense Forces. The Diet shall control the Self-Defense Forces, in accordance with the law.

2. The “Right to Privacy” and the “Right to Know"

Article 22-2.(Protecting One’s Private Life and Personal Information)
No person shall have their private life infringed upon without due cause.
(2) The State and public entities must properly protect the personal information that they possess.

Article 17-2. (Requests to Disclose Information and Making Information Available to the Public)
The people shall have the right to request that the State and public entities disclose information, in accordance with the law.
(2) The State and public entities must make the information that it possess available to the public, to the extent that it does not interfere with the public welfare.

3. Chapter VIII. Local Self-Government

Article 92.
The basis of local self-government shall be the promotion of the residents’ welfare and shall be based on the wishes of the residents. It shall be carried out independently and autonomously by local governments (chihō jichitai).
(2) Local governments (jichitai) shall consist of wide-area local governments (kōiki jichitai) which encompass basic local governments (kisoteki jichitai). Those types [of administrative divisions] shall be specified by law.
(3) The State shall be responsible for carrying out its essential role. [It] shall, as much as possible, entrust local governments with the work of governing areas near its residents. Wide-area local governments (kōiki jichitai) shall deal with matters related to governing that local governments have difficulty carrying out.
(4) When regulations concerning the organization and operations of local public entities are fixed by law, they shall be based on the basic principles (hereinafter referred to as the “Basic Principles of Local-Self Government”) stipulated in the preceding 3 paragraphs.

Article 93.
Local governments shall establish assemblies as their law-making organs, and chief-executive officers and other administrative organizations as their executive organs. Assemblies shall enact ordinances related to their governing work, and supervise the administration carried out by the chief-executive officers and other administrative organizations.
(2) The members of local government assemblies shall be residents of that local government and Japanese nationals (kokumin). [They] shall be elected by direct popular vote.

Article 94.
Based on the Basic Principles of Local Government, local governments may impose taxes pursuant to the provisions of municipal ordinances. In addition to [tax revenue], local governments may also have other sources of revenue, which it can use freely within the scope of its authority.
(2) If the sources of revenue in the preceding paragraph are not adequate to guarantee the minimum degree of equitability, the State shall take the necessary financial measures while considering the independence of local governments.

Article 95.
The residents of local governments may request the enactment, revision, or repeal of municipal ordinances. In addition, residents may request audits related to residents’ lawsuits (jūmin soshō) and referendums related to important matters concerning local governments.
(2) The scope of request by [residents] in the preceding paragraph and the procedures for such claims shall be provided by law.
(3) A special law, applicable only to one local government, cannot be enacted by the Diet without the consent of the majority of the voters of the local public entity concerned, obtained in accordance with law.

4. Chapter IX. A State of National Emergency

Article 95-2.
In the event of an extremely abnormal or devastating disaster, and if the laws enacted by the Diet and existing government organs are unable to deal with such an emergency, the Prime Minister, representing the Cabinet, may declare a state of national emergency in order to preserve the the fundamental order and basic human rights stipulated in the this Constitution.
(2) The Prime Minister must get prior approval from the Diet when declaring a state of National Emergency. However, if there is an especially urgent [situation] and there is no time to get prior approval from the Diet, [the Prime Minister] must get approval from the Diet immediately after declaring the state of national emergency.
(3) If [the [Prime Ministers wants] to continue the state of national emergency after a hundred days, [the Prime Minister] must get prior approval from the Diet every time [the state of emergency] exceeds one hundred days.
(4) Regarding the approval of the Diet in preceding two paragraphs, the provision in Article 60, paragraph 2³ of the preceding article will be applicable. In this case, the phrase “within thirty (30) days” in that paragraph will be changed to “within three (3) days.”
(5) If a resolution related to the proviso in Paragraph 2 or Paragraph 3 is not passed, and the Diet passes a resolution to the effect that the state of national emergency should be lifted or that it is not necessary to continue the state of emergency, then the state of national emergency must be lifted immediately.
(6) While the declaration of a state of national emergency is in effect, the Cabinet may enact a cabinet order which has the full force and effect of a law if an emergency requires the protection of the people’s lives, health, and property. The Prime Minister may also give necessary instructions to the chief executive officers of local governments, and instructions related to required financial expenditures and other dispositions.
(7) The cabinet order in the preceding paragraph must be the absolute minimum necessary to protect the people’s lives, health, and property.
(8) The enactment of the cabinet order in paragraph three and other dispositions shall require subsequent approval of the Diet.
(9) While the declaration of a state of emergency is in effect, exceptions to the rules regarding the term of office of the members of each House and the date of elections may be established.