超過一半日本人賛成憲法修改

Last month the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

憲法改正、「賛成」が５１％…読売調査

読売新聞社の全国世論調査（３月３０、３１日、面接方式）で、憲法を「改正する方がよい」と答えた人は５１％となり、昨年２月調査の５４％に続いて半数を超えた。

　「改正しない方がよい」は３１％（昨年３０％）だった。

　政府が「保有するが行使できない」としている集団的自衛権に関しては、「憲法を改正して使えるようにする」が２８％（同２８％）で、「憲法の解釈を変更して使えるようにする」の２７％（同２７％）との合計は５５％となり、昨年に続いて容認派が半数を超えた。

　憲法改正の発議要件を定めた９６条については、「改正すべきだ」と「改正する必要はない」がともに４２％で並んだ。

　今夏の参院選で投票先を決める際、憲法問題を判断材料にすると答えた人は４０％で、前回参院選前の２０１０年調査から１２ポイント上昇した。安倍首相が９６条の先行改正などの憲法問題を参院選の争点に掲げていることを反映したようだ。各政党が憲法論議をもっと活発に行うべきだと思う人は７６％に上った。

　海外で事件に巻き込まれた日本人を自衛隊が輸送する場合、船舶や航空機に加えて、車での輸送を認める方がよいとする人は７６％に達した。

（2013年4月19日23時39分 読売新聞）

(試譯文)

At a national opinion poll (held on March 30 and 31 by interviewing) done by the Yomiuri Shimbun, the people who answered that regarding the constitution "It is better to revise" turned out to be 51%, continued to exceed 50% following the investigation done in February last yeas which stood at 54%.

"It is better not to revise" was 31% (30% last year).

About the right of collective self-defense which the government was presupposing that "it will not be used even if it is on hand", those who answered "to enable it to be used by revising the constitution” was 28% (last year 28%), "to change the interpretation of the constitution to enable it to be used" was 27% (last year 27%). The sum total would become 55%, following last year the supporting group continued to exceed half.

 About article 96 which provided the requirement for initiating a constitutional amendment, those saying that "you should revise it" and those saying that "it is not necessary to revise it" were equally at 42%.

40% the people who had answered the poll supported the idea that when during the Upper House election vote casting this summer, to make this constitution problem into the material for voting. This percentage had gone up 12 points since last time’s 2010 investigation done before the Upper House election. It seemed that it reflected that Prime Minister Abe had brought up the constitution problems, before the revision of article 96 etc, making it a point of issue for the Upper House election. Those who thought that individual political party should perform a constitutional debate more actively went up to 76%.

When the Japanese were involved in the incident overseas and that the transportation of Self-Defense Forces was needed, in addition to the vessel and the airplane, those who thought that it would be better to permit transportation by car had reached 76%.

So, over half of the Japanese would support making some amendments to their constitution.