Tokyo's disoriented agenda

Abe and his party aim to change the Constitution to remove the pacifist 'shackles' to regain its power of belligerency

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt for constitutional revisions-which he is determined to achieve-is primarily meant to amend Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, which defines three major guiding principles: sovereignty lying with the people, fundamental human rights and pacifism.

At the core of Article 9 is pacifism: "Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."