Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the country's pacifist post-World War II constitution could be amended by 2020.

Abe says pacifist constitution to change

Updated: 17:17, Wednesday January 1, 2014

Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the country's pacifist post-World War II constitution that limits its military to self-defence could be amended by 2020.

In a new-year comment published in the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun on Wednesday, Abe predicted the constitution 'will have been revised' by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics.
His comments come days after he enraged Asian neighbours and disappointed Washington by visiting a Tokyo shrine honouring the country's war dead, including World War II leaders, seen abroad as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.
'(By 2020), I think Japan will have completely restored its status and been making great contributions to peace and stability in the region and the world,' he said.
He added that Japan's elevated status could possibly help Asia become a 'balanced and stable region'.
Abe took power a year ago in an election landslide as Japan faced China's assertive military posture amid a territorial dispute over Tokyo-controlled islands.

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