TOKYO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stepped up call for changing Japan's pacifist Constitution on Monday, two days ahead of a public holiday commemorating the enforcement of the postwar Constitution 70 years ago.
Abe said at a gathering in Tokyo of lawmakers in favor of constitutional amendment that this year is the right time to "take a historic step" toward changing the Constitution.
"This is the time to show the public our specific stance on the ideal Constitution," Abe said, citing the "increasingly severe security situation" as a reason for the move.
Japan's current Constitution was drawn up under the Allied occupation following the World War II, and has never been revised since it went into effect in 1947.
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