In Japan, upper house discussions on constitutional reform may delay prime minister's revision plans

[3 May] marked the 76th year since the Constitution came into effect. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, has expressed his willingness to revise the Constitution during his tenure as LDP leader through September next year. In the Diet, however, while discussions in the House of Representatives have been gathering speed, debates in the House of Councillors are progressing slowly. Unless both houses of the Diet keep in step with each other on the issue, it may affect the schedule for constitutional amendment. Kishida has been urging members of both houses to accelerate discussions on constitutional revision. [...] Before holding a national referendum on revising the Constitution, a draft bill for a constitutional amendment must be initiated by the Diet and obtain a majority vote in the Commission on the Constitution in both houses of the Diet, followed by a two-thirds majority vote at the plenary session of both houses.
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