Abe must now follow up on his words of friendship

In his policy address on the opening of a new session of parliament on Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once again focused on his id��e fixe when he spoke of changing the Constitution so as to shape the future of the country.

Abe has long nurtured the ambition of revising the country's Constitution, specifically its key war-renouncing clause that restricts the activities of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

However, it is a divisive issue in Japan, which is why in his address he raised it under the banner of nationalism - something that has proved effective elsewhere in the world in these uncertain times - saying that by changing the Constitution "we will be creating our nation" for the next 50 years or 100 years.