Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party reaches consensus on constitutional revision
2018-03-24 09:20:09 source：Straitstimes
March 23, 2018
TOKYO -- After months of protracted wrangling within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on how to revise the pacifist Article 9 of the Constitution, the party on Thursday (March 22) reached a broad consensus on the way forward.
In line with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's preferred option, the LDP's draft tacks on a new clause that will enshrine its Self-Defence Force (SDF) into the charter, but without ditching the war-renouncing pledge made in the original document.
The added clause says that the SDF will be "maintained as an armed organisation" for Japan to take "necessary self-defence measures to defend our country's peace and independence, and ensuring the safety of the country and its people", reported Kyodo News Agency in an unofficial translation.
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