Abe looks to new Japanese constitution
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s new prime minister, said his government would rewrite the constitution during his term, bringing to an end more than 60 years of living with a document written under US occupation.
In his first newspaper interview since taking office in late September, Mr Abe told the Financial Times: “Japanese people should themselves write a constitution that befits the 21st century.”
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The existing document, written by American occupying forces in 1946, includes Article 9, which renounces Japan’s right to wage war or to maintain armed forces. “I believe this article needs to be revised from the point of view of defending Japan,” Mr Abe said, adding that Japan was now expected to play a role in international security that was not compatible with its current constitution.
Mr Abe, the first Japanese prime minister to be born since the war, said: “My term of office is three years and the president of the Liberal Democratic party can sit up to two terms. Within that term of office, I shall strive to achieve the revision.”
The anointed successor of Junichiro Koizumi, who oversaw Japan’s return to economic health during more than five years in office, Mr Abe has emphasised restoring Japan’s national pride through robust diplomacy.
He said an enlightened view of national interest explained his early success in mending relations with China after years of tension. “Especially in economics, we both need each other. The Chinese were strongly aware of that and they probably deemed that if they allowed the political tension to persist that could have a negative impact on the Chinese economy.”
Mr Abe was welcomed in Beijing within 10 days of assuming office, becoming the only Japanese prime minister to make China his first port of call.
He has remained deliberately vague on the question of whether he will visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine, where 2.5m war dead including 14 convicted Class A war criminals are honoured.
On Tuesday he spoke of the need for compromise, saying: “Japan and China have agreed to build a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship. And towards that end both our countries are required to make efforts.”
No date had been set for a visit by Hu Jintao, China’s president, to Tokyo, but Mr Abe said the two had agreed to meet regularly and he hoped to welcome Mr Hu to Japan next year.
安倍：日本应该有适合21世纪的新宪法
日本新任首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)表示，日本政府将在他的任期内重写日本和平宪法，结束60多年来以美国占领时期书写的文件为宪法的历史。
安倍向英国《金融时报》表示：“日本人民应该自己撰写一部适合21世纪的宪法。”这是安倍自9月下旬就职以来首次接受报纸采访。
现行的日本宪法于1946年由美国占领者制定，其中的第9条规定，日本必须放弃发动战争或拥有武装力量的权利。安倍表示：“我认为，从保卫日本的角度出发，这一条应该修改。”他补充指出，现在，外界希望日本在国际安全事务中发挥作用，但这与日本的宪法不符。
安倍是首位二战后出生的日本首相。他表示：“我的首相任期是三年，而自民党总裁最多可以连任两届。在这段任期内，我会努力完成修宪。”
作为小泉纯一郎(Junichiro Koizumi)的指定继任者，安倍一直强调要通过强有力的外交恢复民族自豪。
他表示，对国家利益的开明看法，是他能在修补日中关系方面取得初步成功的原因。“特别是在经济上，我们都需要对方。中国人清楚这一点，而且他们可能认为，如果允许政治紧张局势持续下去，可能会对中国经济产生消极影响。”
安倍就职10天就在北京受到了欢迎，成为首位将中国作为首个出访国的日本首相。
