A bill to ease procedures for conducting a national referendum on constitutional amendments after they’ve been approved by parliament cleared the Lower House on Friday.
But while the changes address concerns about counting the votes and public service announcements, parliament still faces the thorny question of how to legislate internet and social media commercials about amendments in the days and weeks before a referendum is held.
The bill relaxes the eligibility requirements for poll observers, a crucial measure in parts of the country where there is a shortage of candidates for the job. It also establishes regulations for appointing vote-counting observers at local polling stations on remote islands when ballot boxes cannot be transported to larger islands for counting due to bad weather or other circumstances.
FM radio stations will also be allowed to broadcast public service announcements regarding constitutional amendment proposals. Before the change, such announcements were limited to AM radio.
While not included in the legal changes, the Lower House also passed a supplementary resolution Friday that calls on the national government to take legislative and other measures to improve the environment in which referendum ballots are cast and ensure the fairness and impartiality of national referendums.
Specifically, the resolution calls for restrictions on paid advertisements in broadcast media and on the internet and other platforms for national referendum campaigns; regulations concerning how national referendum campaigns are funded; and proper use of the internet and other platforms in relation to national referendums.
How to regulate deepfake ads and artificial intelligence-generated misinformation and propaganda prior to a national referendum without impinging on the right to free speech is likely to be the subject of intense political debate as the parliamentary and public debate on constitutional revision continues.
The changes come amid ongoing efforts by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government to revise the Constitution.
Her ruling coalition — the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) — is pushing to change Article 9, the no-war clause, by explicitly recognizing the Self-Defense Forces and allowing Japan to engage in collective self-defense.
Both parties also favor adding an emergency clause that gives the government greater authority in times of natural disasters, coups, national security situations and pandemics.
But passing a constitutional amendment would first require approval of a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament, followed by a national referendum.
Enacted in 1947, the Constitution has never been revised.
The LDP and the JIP (also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai), along with the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito, supported the bill on amending referendum procedures.
It will be taken up in the Upper House beginning June 24 with the aim of having it passed…
