TOKYO—As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarks on a push to amend the country’s pacifist constitution, he is running into the political realities of a resistant public and a rapidly closing window of opportunity.
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected in the fall to begin drafting language that would formally recognize the country’s Self-Defense Forces in the constitution, as Mr. Abe has proposed. Currently, Article 9 states that “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.”
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