President Barack Obama failed to get a congressional declaration of war, as required by the Constitution.

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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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Both parties agree on the need to change the constitution as a possible means of ending the war, and both accept that Sri Lanka must continue to be a liberalised economy.

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But the founders, and more specifically the framers of the Constitution, included men who had fought a war for independence -- the very war celebrated on the "Glorious Fourth" -- against a country in which church and state were essentially one.

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One one hand, Germany's constitution, written after the second world war to prevent any repeat of Nazi horrors, assures the rights of parents and of religious freedom.

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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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Next, legal challenges must be brought to force Congress to comply with their duties, responsibilities and limits under Article 1: Section 8 of the Constitution which appertain to raising and funding an army, maintain a navy, declaring war, calling forth the militia to suppress insurrections and repel invasions.

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