Japan headed for referendum on revising constitution

Tokyo

JAPAN could hold its first referendum on revising its pacifist constitution next year, a historic step which if successful would cement Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative legacy but risks splitting the public and worrying China and South Korea.

Mr Abe, in a surprise move on the 70th anniversary of the US-drafted charter last month, made a proposal to revise its war-renouncing Article 9 by 2020 to clarify the ambiguous status of its military, known as the Self-Defence Forces (SDF).