A majority of respondents in an annual nationwide poll continue to support constitutional revision, while a record-low percentage of respondents said there is no need to revise Japan's post-war Constitution. 

The new Asahi Shimbun poll showed that 53 percent support revising the Constitution, while 35 percent are opposed to constitutional revision, similar to last year. 

In the survey conducted last year, the same 53 percent said the Constitution needs to be revised, while 39 percent said it does not need to be changed.

The Asahi Shimbun has asked this question annually in its spring mail survey every year since 2013.

The second administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which showed a strong desire to revise the Constitution, ruled from the end of 2012 to the fall of 2020.

In the surveys conducted during the second Abe administration, the “unnecessary” camp outnumbered the “necessary” camp for constitutional revision from 2014 to 2020, with the exception of 2013, the year immediately after Abe took office.

However, in 2021, under the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the “necessary” camp overtook the “unnecessary” camp by a small margin, at 45 percent to 44 percent.

From 2022 to 2024, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022 under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, more than 50 percent thought constitutional change was “necessary,” while the number of those who thought it was “unnecessary” remained below 40 percent.

The “unnecessary” camp decreased a little this time under the current administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, reaching an all-time low.

However, the 4 percentage points drop was not a significant one. 

Among the supporters of the Ishiba Cabinet, which accounted for 34 percent, in this survey, the “necessary” camp was at 48 percent, a small percentage compared to the overall percentage.

The “unnecessary” camp was 42 percent, larger than the percentage of the total.

Among those who disapprove of the Ishiba Cabinet, which was 54 percent, 60 percent were in the “necessary” camp, nearly double the 32 percent of the “unnecessary” camp.

This is a statistical abnormality in that the Cabinet is led by Ishiba, the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has made constitutional revision a party policy.

However, opponents of the Cabinet were more inclined to favor changing the Constitution than Cabinet supporters.

Under the Kishida and Suga administrations, there was no significant difference between the “necessary” and “unnecessary” responses among the supporters and opponents of the Cabinet.

The Abe administration, in stark contrast to the Ishiba administration, had consistently polled a much higher percentage backing constitutional revision among supporters than opponents in a total of eight surveys.

On the other hand, looking at the survey by party of support, the “necessary” for constitutional change exceeded the “unnecessary” camp by 54 percent to 36 percent among LDP supporters.

However, compared to the 62 percent to 32 percent ratio in 2024, the latest figures were closer, and the overall trend this time was not different.

Conversely, 45 percent of the supporters of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan considered it "necessary" in the latest survey, while 48 percent said it was "unnecessary."

In the 2024 survey, the figures were 28 percent to 67 percent.

In the latest survey, the “necessary” camp increased, and the “necessary” and “unnecessary” camps became closer to each other.

Currently, Yukio Edano, former head of the CDP, is the chairman of the Lower House’s constitutional research committee.

At a lecture late last year, Edano said, “If it is going to change for the better, it is better to change (the Constitution).”

Edano has also supported Diet deliberations of the issue.

However, it is not clear whether this has affected the change in the numbers of supporters of the CDP this time, because The Asahi Shimbun did not ask any related questions.

Among supporters for the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin), 65 percent said it is "necessary," while 22 percent said it is "unnecessary."

Supporters for the Democratic Party for the People showed similar trends, as 65 percent said it is "necessary," while 26 percent said it is "unnecessary."

Among supporters for Reiwa Shinsengumi, 64 percent said it is "necessary," while 25 percent said it is "unnecessary."

Among supporters for the junior coalition partner, Komeito, 50 percent said it is "necessary."

Among supporters for the Japanese Communist Party, 70 percent said it is "unnecessary."

By age group, those in their 30s to 50s were more likely to agree that constitutional change is “necessary,” at 60 percent.

The survey also asked respondents to what extent do they trust Japanese politics.

A total of 32 percent said they “trust” Japanese politics, including 1 percent who said they “have a lot of trust” and 31 percent who said they “trust to some extent.”

Those who responded that they do not trust Japanese politics were at 67 percent, including 49 percent who said “not very much” and 18 percent who said “not at all.”

Among those who answered that they trust the Japanese politics, 46 percent said that constitutional change is “necessary,” almost on par with the 43 percent of those who said it was “unnecessary.”

However, among those who answered that they “don’t trust” the political system, 57 percent said it was "necessary," far exceeding the 31 percent who said “unnecessary.”

The survey also asked respondents whether, in considering the future of Japan, it would be necessary to drastically reform the political, economic and social systems, or whether it would be better to maintain and improve the current systems.

Among those who chose “drastic reform” (49 percent), 64 percent said that constitutional reform is “necessary,” ahead of the 26 percent who said it is “unnecessary.”

Those who chose “maintain and improve” (49 percent) were almost equally divided between those who thought constitutional change was “necessary” and those who thought it was “unnecessary.”

It can be said that those who are increasingly distrustful of politics and those who desire a renewal of the world order are more inclined to support changing the Constitution.

The survey also asked the extent to which momentum to change the Constitution is growing among the public.

Three percent (4 percent in the 2024 survey) responded that “momentum is growing a lot,” while 28 percent (24 percent in the 2024 survey) responded that “momentum is growing to some extent.”

Fifty-six percent (55 percent in the 2024 survey) answered “not so much” and 9 percent (15 percent in the 2024 survey) answered “not at all.”

In total, only 31 percent (28 percent in the 2024 survey) said momentum was growing, while 65 percent (70 percent in the 2024 survey) said momentum was not growing.

The latest survey was conducted by mail from late February to early April, randomly selecting 3,000 voters nationwide.

The valid responses were 1,899, for a response rate of 63 percent.