Japan's Shinzo Abe resumes Constitution quest in bid to burnish legacy

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces almost insurmountable obstacles to completing his career-long quest to amend Japan's pacifist constitution. That won't stop him from trying.

Success would help burnish Mr Abe's legacy after becoming the country's longest-serving prime minister in November. Rewriting the constitution was one of the founding principles of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party , which argues the move is needed to give Japan's"self-defence" forces greater legitimacy and secure Tokyo's interests around the globe.

"In terms of political priorities, I don't think public interest is necessarily strong," Mr Natsuo Yamaguchi, who leads Mr Abe's Buddhist-backed coalition party, Komeito, told NHK on Jan 12."We have to look at this calmly and realistically as we move ahead." Meanwhile, North Korean state media denounced Mr Abe's efforts to amend the document in a commentary Wednesday as"a revelation of wicked design to turn Japan into a military giant."

"In recent opinion polls, the people are calling strongly for debate on changing the constitution," Mr Abe told public broadcaster NHK in an interview broadcast Jan 12."As lawmakers, we have to accept this," he added."I am unwavering in my desire to be the one who achieves a revision of the constitution."

Mr Abe enters the year hobbled by scandals that have led to the arrest of a sitting LDP lawmaker accused of taking bribes from a Chinese company seeking to be involved in the local casino industry. He also faces lingering questions over whether he improperly rewarded constituency supporters with invitations to a publicly funded cherry blossom-viewing party.

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