Abe also wants to carry out political reforms such as changing Japan's constitution which enshrines pacifism.

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Doing so explicitly is difficult under Japan's constitution, but there are plenty of ways they could be made to behave.

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Japan's constitution doesn't allow troops to take part in combat, so they have been working in southern Iraq on humanitarian missions.

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Mr Nagashima admits there is little chance the party would go as far as its more hawkish antagonist, the Liberal Democratic Party, which is mulling a manifesto pledge to change article nine of Japan's constitution, drafted by the American victors in 1947, which forever renounces war as a way of settling disputes.

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The U.S. used its power as occupier after World War II to impose a constitution on Japan which forbade possession of a military.

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In fact, the Constitution of Japan was written by the U.S. occupation authorities, whose head was General Douglas MacArthur, under direction of officials in Washington, D.

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The Constitution of Japan was promulgated and became effective on November 3, 1946, when it was signed by the Japanese Emperor Hirohito and all the ministers of government on that day.

FORBES: Limited Government, Reform, and the Japanese Constitution

Yet Japan has long liberally interpreted its antiwar constitution to permit a strong homeland defense.

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Americans lectured Japan on the evils of militarism and wrote a brand new Japanese constitution outlawing the use of military force in international affairs.

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There is much that Japan can be proud of since 1945 -- rapid recovery from war devastation, adopting a pacifist Constitution, the economic miracle, achieving the best living standards in the region, creating a robust democracy in a relatively egalitarian society, and promoting regional economic development through massive aid and technical cooperation.

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And this week Japan's Diet (parliament) passed a law outlining how a referendum might take place on amending the constitution.

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