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The Liberal Democratic Party kept the debate on how to reinterpret the constitution between itself and its ruling coalition partner New Komeito. Although it put up a robust fight for months and questioning the various scenarios that the LDP dreamed up to sell collective self-defense, New Komeito finally succumbed to its powerful partner.

"Abe is suddenly in a rush to seal the deal on collective self-defense as he senses the media and public opinion is increasingly hostile to his project," Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies of Temple University Japan, wrote in Japan Times.

A nationalist, Abe wants to radically overhaul three of Japan's basic modern charters: the 1946 pacifist Constitution; the education law, which he thinks undervalues patriotism; and the nation's security treaty with the United States.

To shut down any debate on these issues, he has ensured NHK on his side. NHK is a public funded national broadcaster, which is supposed to be impartial and aloof from partisan influence. However, Abe engineered changes at the top of NHK by appointing four board members including its chairperson Katsuhito Momii, who has ultimate editorial control. All of them have close ties to Abe or his hawkish allies.

Momii, who has no previous experience in broadcasting, returned Abe's favor with words that stunned journalists. At his inaugural news conference in January, he said it was "only natural" that NHK's reporting should follow the government line on Japan's territorial disputes with its neighbors.

"When the government says 'left' we can't say 'right'," he said.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan says that the close relationships of NHK's new board members with Abe could pave the way for turning the board into something akin to his private property and hinder free speech.

Japan's conservative politicians have a long history of interfering with the press. Abe himself has a well-reserved reputation for strong-arming the news media.

In 2005 Abe was accused of pressuring the NHK to revise its documentary on "comfort women".

Some observers believe that the appointment of rightists on the NHK board is part of Abe's concerted effort to revise Japan's war history, as well as to push his nationalist agenda.

The author is the head of China Daily's Tokyo bureau. Email: caihong@chinadaily.com.cn

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