Root of regional instability

Abe's move to modify the interpretation of Japan's constitution is to lay foundation for its use of military force overseas

Removing the restraints on collective self-defense imposed by Japan's pacifist Constitution through constitutional interpretation has become a top priority for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cabinet, as these restraints are the last "defensive line" of the Japanese pacifist Constitution. If this defensive line is breached, the pacifist Constitution will exist in name only.

To revise the pacifist Constitution and rid Japan of the postwar system have long been the goals pursued by Japan's right-wing forces. Abe has even said that it is the "historic mission" of the Liberal Democratic Party to revise the Constitution, and he has made the task the core objective for his administration.