Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) Nearly two-thirds of Japanese citizens oppose revising the pacifist clause of their country's constitution, which bans a standing army, according to a survey published yesterday.
Momentum for revising the constitution, never changed since it took effect in 1947, has mounted following last month's huge election victory for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the selection of a strong advocate of constitutional reform as leader of the main opposition Democratic Party.
The survey by a newspaper, however, showed that 62 per cent of respondents were opposed to altering Art. 9 of the constitution, which renounces the right to go to war and forbids maintenance of a standing military.
Amendments need to be approved by two-thirds of both houses of parliament, and then by a majority of voters in a national referendum.
Successive governments have interpreted the clause as permitting the existence of forces for self-defence. Current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, like his LDP predecessors over the past decade, has been stretching the boundaries of that interpretation, including sending non-combat troops to Iraq.
The LDP is working on a draft of a new constitution that would state that Japan can have a military both to defend itself and to play a greater role in global security, but would limit overseas deployments to international co-operation.
LDP policy chief Karou Yosano said the language of the amended clause would not cause excessive anxiety overseas.
