Spotlight: Japan Conference, a mysterious hand supporting Abe's attempts to amend constitution

A book on Nippon Kaigi, or Japan Conference, the largest ultra-conservative organization in Japan, recently came under the spotlight, following the organization's attempts to stop the book from publication, which, on the contrary, promoted sales.

The book, written by Tamotsu Sugano, uncovers the true face of the mysterious nationalist group, which is said to dominate Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government and play an important role in Abe's policy-making.

Apparently, the ideals of Japan Conference, including denying the legitimacy of the 1946-1948 Tokyo War Crimes tribunals, amending the pacifist Constitution, revising Japan's textbooks and officially honoring Yasukuni Shrine, are being pushed forward by the Abe administration, political analysts here have pointed out.

"What Abe is doing is to repay the favors of the right-wing Japan Conference for supporting him through a tough time after he resigned from the post of prime minister in 2007," wrote former Prime Minister Naoto Kan recently on his blog.

Japan Conference was founded in 1997 through the merger of two groups: the National Conference to Defend Japan and the Society for the Protection of Japan. The former was composed of veterans and conservative scholars, while the latter comprised a number of religious cults. Both of the groups' agendas included constitutional revision.

The organization since its inception now claims some 38,000 members from all of the 47 prefectures in Japan, including primary figures of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), leaders of economic circles as well as cultural celebrities and university professors.

The organization has a huge influence in Japanese politics, with multiple affiliates in the legislative and executive branches of the Japanese government.

One such affiliate is the Discussion Group of Nippon Kaigi Diet Members. As of September 2015, 281 of Japan's Diet members were members of the Discussion Group, 256 of whom were from the ruling LDP.

Abe himself serves as a special adviser to the Discussion Group. The Japanese leader's cabinet has even been called the "Japan Conference's Cabinet" by some, as 15 of 19 of his current cabinet members are from the Discussion Group.

The organization is also expanding its influence among lawmakers of local parliaments. In local parliaments of 15 prefectures, members of the Association of Nippon Kaigi Local Diet Members accounted for over 40 percent of the lawmakers.

From 2014, Japan Conference started to push local parliaments to pass appeals demanding the amendment of the constitution as soon as possible. As of March 2016, 70 percent of the prefectural parliaments have passed such an appeal.

Japan Conference also exploits its close association with religious groups to achieve its goals. Religious groups in Japan are often deeply-rooted and financially strong and have great mobilization power. Many politicians rely on the support of such groups, despite the constitutional stipulating that religious groups are banned from participating in political activities.

In Japan Conference's attempts to amend the constitution, some religious groups played the role of vanguards by mobilizing their followers to participate in activities and collecting signatures demanding the amendment of the constitution.

Through their connections with Japan Conference, some right-wing religious groups are also exerting more influence in Japan's politics.

In light of Abe's close association with Japan Conference and from what the conference advocates, people can see the direction in which Abe's administration is going to take Japan, analysts here have warned. Endit