Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been developing ideas for sweeping revision of the constitution for several years, and it has recently issued a document outlining its main proposals for revision. The party plans to issue a full draft for a new constitution in November 2005, and if the draft is approved by two-thirds of the Diet, the revised version will replace the present constitution. The LDP's proposals for constitutional revision include three issues of significant concern to contemporary Japanese religious organizations: pacifism, separation of religion from state, and the position of the emperor. This paper seeks to elucidate the implications for the Japanese religious world of the proposed revisions.

The spectrum of contemporary Japanese religious organizations incorporates significant diversity of opinion on the issues in question. Also relevant is the fact that different religions have different histories and styles of involving themselves in civil society and its debates over questions like constitutional revision. Shinto has consistently advocated constitutional revision since the promulgation of the present constitution, and we may expect that it will welcome the LDP's proposals, perhaps advocating even more thorough-going changes. In particular, the Association of Shinto Shrines will undoubtedly welcome any change that would enable the Yasukuni Shrine to be given an official status as the nation's premier facility for honoring the military dead. By contrast, Christianity (both in the form of individual churches, denominations, related organizations of Christians, and the several newspapers published under Christian auspices) and those new religious movements belonging to the Association of New Religions (Shinshûren) will certainly oppose constitutional revision in favor of their expressed commitment to pacifism and a strict separation of religion from state. Yet even among Shinshûren-affiliated new religions, there are some that might wish to see pacifism strictly upheld but would yet welcome a change in the emperor's position. New Age groups and new religious movements tending to withdraw from society may find it difficult to enter civil society discourse on these issues, but it would also be difficult for them to remain credible to their followers if they failed to adopt a position of some kind. It is not yet clear how the Buddhist world will react, nor is it clear that there will be a unified response from the Buddhist sects as such. Nevertheless, the several associations of Buddhist groups and the newspapers they publish will eventually have to adopt a public position. Recent trends towards greater Buddhist engagement with civil society can be seen in Buddhist NGOs, some of which are cross-sectarian, and several of which have cooperated with Christians to oppose the United States' wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The stances adopted by religious groups in response to constitutional revision will largely define the position of religion in Japanese society for coming years.

Helen HARDACRE is Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society at Harvard University. Her numerous publications include Lay Buddhism in Contemporary Japan (1984), Kurozumikyo and the New Religions of Japan (1986), Shinto and the State 1868-1988 (1989), Marketing the Menacing Fetus in Japan (1997), and most recently Religion and Society in Nineteenth-century Japan (2003). Her current interests include analyzing Japanese society and religion from the perspective of "civil society," and the ramifications of possible constitutional amendments on religion in Japan.