FUNADA Hajime

Hajime Funada is an LDP member of the House of Representatives. He served in the LDP’s headquarters for constitutional reform as Chairperson (2014-2015).

He identifies himself as being with “the moderates” of the LDP. He has criticized LDP leadership for supporting constitutional revision by the Abe administration. According to Funada, the LDP’s 2012 draft was more of a campaign slogan to take power back from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ, 民主党) than a realistic constitutional draft.

He claims the draft overly exaggerated nationalism and conservatism; he said that it would be superfluous to rename the “Japan Self-Defense Forces (自衛隊)” as the “National Defense Forces (国防軍)” (2015 interview) and unnecessary to preserve traditional family values in the constitution (2016 interview). He regularly publishes articles about various political issues on his website, including the constitution.