Japan's General Election Constitutionalists Retreat..."The lowest level since 2012".

The Asahi Shimbun reported that 67 percent of Japanese House of Representatives elected on the 27th of last month were in favor of constitutional amendment, the lowest level since 2012.

According to the Asahi Shimbun's analysis of 449 (96.9%) out of 465 elected candidates with Masaki Taniguchi's research office at the University of Tokyo, 76% of the elected candidates supported constitutional amendment during the 2021 House of Representatives elections.

"The proportion of pro-constitutionalists among the elected has been on the decline, from 89% in 2012 when the Liberal Democratic Party regained power, to 84% in 2014 and 82% in 2017," Asahi said.

At the party level, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Restoration Association have insisted on a constitutional amendment by specifying the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also said at a press conference on the 28th of last month, after his defeat in the general election, that he would "move forward with the revision of the constitution, which is the basic policy of the party."

However, the Asahi Shimbun said, "The defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party in this general election has caused the energy to retreat," adding, "The reality is that the approval rating of the Ishiba Cabinet is already falling, so there is no room for discussions on constitutional amendment in the future."

In fact, the total number of seats won by the ruling party, including the Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling party, the Japan Restoration Society, and the National Democratic Party, is 297, short of 310 seats (2/3 of the total), which can be proposed for constitutional amendment.