Nationalists seek overhaul of Japan’s pacifist constitution as concerns grow over threats from North Korea.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced plans to seek the first-ever changes to Japan’s post-war pacifist constitution and said he wants the revisions to take effect in 2020.
The changes, which would spell out the status of the nation’s “self-defence” military forces, were announced on Wednesday as Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the constitution written by American occupiers.
The charter, which renounces Japan’s right to wage war, has been championed by progressives as a pacifist symbol born out of the country’s World War II defeat.
But nationalists seeking an overhaul are gearing up for a major new push as concerns grow over North Korean belligerence .
In a video message to a gathering marking the commemoration, Abe said he aims to revise the constitution by 2020 when Tokyo will host the summer Olympics.
“I want to make 2020 a year when a new constitution will be enforced, ” Abe said without elaborating.
He said the revision should include a new clause acknowledging Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) as constitutional.
