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Two-thirds of Japanese back constitutional revision: poll
 TOKYO - Nearly two-thirds of Japanese back revising the countrys pacifist constitution - which would include creating an official role for the armed forces - according to a newspaper poll released on Sunday. The Mainichi newspaper said 65 percent of respondents agreed that the constitution should be changed, with 27 percent opposed.The poll also showed that 80 percent of respondents felt the constitution has been useful for preserving peace and improving peoples lives in postwar Japan, the paper said. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has long campaigned to completely replace the pacifist constitution, which was drafted by US military occupiers after World War II. The party has been seeking to pass a bill by June to authorize a national referendum to amend the constitution. The partys proposed amendments, unveiled last November, would create an official role for the Japanese armed forces and allow them to be deployed abroad. Posted by: Steve White 2006-03-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=144590 |