By Anadolu staff
Japan's ruling parties on Thursday began talks on a first-ever revision to Japan's postwar pacifist Constitution, according to local media reports.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its new junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), began discussing drafting proposals for revision to the 1947 Constitution, Kyodo News reported.
The talks follow the LDP’s recent breakup with its longtime partner Komeito, which opposed any change to Article 9 – the clause that renounces war and prohibits Japan from maintaining “war potential.”
The LDP’s new ally, the JIP, supports revising Article 9 to grant clearer legal status to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
The country's Constitution has remained unchanged since it took effect in the wake of World War II.
"As we share the same goal, we would like to advance discussions," said Yoshitaka Shindo, a senior LDP lawmaker who is leading the panel to draft clauses with the JIP.
Many conservatives view Article 9 as a humiliating legacy imposed by the US-led occupation after Japan’s World War II defeat, while the public is also divided over whether to change the article.
The ruling parties plan to finalize and submit their proposed constitutional changes to parliament some 17 months later, by the end of March 2027.