Abe's 47% approval shows lack of wide support: Opinions

Protesters raise clinched fists towards the parliament building during a rally in Tokyo, June 11, 2015. Protesters gathered outside parliament, opposing a set of controversial bills intended to expand Japan's defense role at home and internationally. The banners read: "No war." [Photo/IC]

About 56.7 percent of the Japanese public believe the security bills under deliberation in the Japanese Diet are unconstitutional, according to a telephone survey conducted by the country's Kyodo News over the weekend. Meanwhile, the public approval rating for the Cabinet led by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continued to wane, slipping to some 47.4 percent with a fall of 2.5 percent from the previous survey. Comments:

The increasing criticisms against the Abe administration in Japan, to some extent reflect the fact that many Japanese citizens are exponents of pacifism. But the brutal fact is, these bills are likely to be passed in the end, given the majority Diet seats are held by the ruling coalition of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. The security situation in the Asia-Pacific area may be greatly affected if Tokyo seeks to exercise its right to collective defense in so-called overseas crises.

Beijing Daily, June 19

To bypass the domestic opposition to his attempts to revise Japan's pacifist Constitution, Abe resorted to reinterpretation of the Constitution hoping to trick peace-loving Japanese into supporting him. Yet as the latest survey indicates, he has failed again and is doomed to deviate further from mainstream society should he force the security bills through the Diet.

haiwainet.cn, June 20

Notably, Abe's new security bills will make a big difference to international affairs if not passed because of the wide opposition to them. It will be a major setback for both Abe who has tried hard to implant the right-wing tendency in Japan and US President Barack Obama regarding his "pivot to Asia" policy. But it should be a boost to the benign development of Japan and the China-Japan relationship.

Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, June 22