May 9, 2017

"Editor's Note:

At a recent gathering to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Constitution, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a video message that he wanted to make 'explicit the status' of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDFs) by amending the Constitution by 2020. How will Abe's new move affect the situation in the Asia-Pacific region? How should China respond to Japan's growing ambition for military development? Global Times reporter Yang Chuchu and Ma Linna interviewed two Chinese scholars on this issue.

Li Ruoyu, assistant research fellow at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

In 2016, after the 24th House of Councillors election, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) occupied two-thirds of the seats in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, passing the threshold for constitutional amendment."

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http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1046073.shtml