My Min-i-ren(2)

In such a complex situation, the left-wing in Japan had long refrained from fully affirming the constitution. They aimed to adhere to and develop only selected "democratic provisions," such as the Preamble and Article 9.

However, the push for constitutional revision by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gradually gained momentum since Prime Minister Nakasone in the 1980s, which prompted the left-wing forces to reconsider the constitution.

The current Emperor fulfills the role of a symbol of national unity without holding political powers as a head of state. It is considered incorrect to classify Japan as a monarchy like the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. As a result, the entire constitution, including the Emperor's provisions, became the subject of adherence.

There has also been a change in attitude towards Article 25 of the constitution. Research since 1990 revealed that Article 25 was not originally present in the draft constitution by the Allied Occupation GHQ but was inserted based on a proposal by Suzuki Yoshio, a member of the Social Democratic Party, and named the "right to life" by Seino Kikuko and others. It is said that Suzuki Yoshio referred to Article 151, Paragraph 1 of the Weimar Constitution of Germany (1919).

Weimar Constitution, Article 151 (Order of Economic Life, Economic Liberty)

1. The order of economic life must conform to principles of justice aiming to ensure a life worthy of human beings for everyone. The economic freedom of individuals shall be secured within these limits.

However, it is correct to say that Suzuki's proposal actually inherited the concept of the right to life brought back to Japan by Fukuda Tokuzo, a pre-war welfare economist who studied in Germany in 1900. Fukuda became famous for advocating for "human recovery" based on the right to existence when he led students from Hitotsubashi University to investigate the damage caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake ,1923. Approximately 90 years later, "human recovery" became our rallying cry in the reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.

In his writings, Fukuda Tokuzo mentioned that he inherited the concept of the right to life from Anton Menger (1841-1906), a German socialist legal scholar who was heavily influenced by Fabian socialism in England.

With the revelation of this unique history related to the right to life in Japan, an even more significant development occurred. The meaning of the right to life had been changing significantly due to the progress of Japan's social security movement. It was moving beyond being the basis for the relief of people below the poverty line, as stated in Article 25, to striving for the principle of a welfare state that "ensures a healthy and culturally rich life for all individuals," including those above the poverty line.

When considering this alongside the Constitution's Article 9, which advocates for the renouncement of war, it can be seen that a fundamentally different and groundbreaking image of a welfare state emerged under the framework of Article 25. This welfare state image holds a characteristic of fundamentally confronting the neoliberal global order, which assumes incessant wars led by the United States.

In this way, the positioning of Article 25 and the right to life in Japan's left-wing movement underwent significant changes and became more relatable. The declaration made by the Japan Federation of Medical Workers' Unions (Min-iren) in their new manifesto in 2010 can be seen as an expression of the confluence of Min-iren's ideals with Article 25 of the constitution.