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LONDON - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to revise the postwar constitution to improve the country's ability to defend itself and make a greater military contribution to international security.
"With 60 years past, there are provisions within the constitution that no longer befit the reality of the day," Abe told the Financial Times in an interview published on its website on Tuesday. "... one typical example would be Article 9."
Japan's constitution was written during the American occupation after World War Two. Article 9 bans the possession of armed forces, an attempt to prevent a resurgence of the militarism that led to Japan's wartime conquest of much of eastern Asia.
Article 9 has been interpreted to allow the creation of military forces purely for self-defence, but Japan had to pass special laws to allow the dispatch of its military to the Indian Ocean off Afghanistan and to Iraq in support of US operations.
Even then, its forces were allowed to operate only in non-combat zones and to take part only in activities such as reconstruction and logistical support.
"I believe this article (Article 9) needs to be revised from the viewpoint of defending Japan, and also in order to comply with the international expectation that Japan make international contributions," Abe said.
Abe, who took office late last month, had said previously that revising the constitution was a key long-term objective, but he was more specific in the interview.
"My term of office is three years and the president of the Liberal Democratic party can sit for up to two terms. Within that term of office, I shall strive to achieve the revision," he said.
Any changes to Article 9 would make many of Japan's largely pacifist population nervous. But North Korea's recent missile and nuclear tests have reinforced Abe's view that Japan should play a more assertive role in international affairs.
Speaking before news that North Korea had agreed to return to six-party talks on its nuclear programme, Abe said:
"We are convinced that this problem needs to be resolved diplomatically and in a peaceful manner. And I think this is the consensus of the international community, including the United States.
"But I also think Chairman Kim Jong-il and the regime are aware that, if they resort to force, that will spell the end of them. The end of them? Yes, the end of them. And they are fully aware of that, I think."
- REUTERS
