LDP to pursue Abe-proposed amendment of pacifist Constitution

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday decided to pursue a constitutional amendment plan proposed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to add an explicit reference to Japan's defense forces in the war-renouncing Article 9.Abe, who is eager to make the first-ever revision to the 1947 Constitution written during the U.S.-led postwar occupation, has called for clarity about the legal status of the decades-old Self-Defense Forces."We will work toward the direction" of seeking a revision that is in line with Abe's idea, veteran LDP lawmaker Hiroyuki Hosoda, who heads the LDP's constitutional re…READ FULL ARTICLE