Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe Thursday called for revising the country's Constitution, saying that the 60-year-old charter can no longer accommodate major changes facing the Japanese society.

"We face the need to review the Constitution," Abe said in a statement issued on the 60th anniversary of the pacifist Constitution, according to Kyodo News.

"Japanese society has faced major changes that could not be imagined at the time of the enactment of the Constitution", he said in the statement issued in Tokyo during his absence. The premier is due to return on Thursday from a visit to the United States and Middle East.

Abe, the second Japanese prime minister to issue a statement on Constitution Day, contrasts sharply with former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who vowed that "the fundamental principle of the Constitution would once again be treasured" on marking the 50 anniversary of the charter.

Abe has shown his strong determination to amend the constitution, which has remained unchanged since it came into effect on May 3, 1947. The prime minister is also keen to invite extensive discussions over the topic.

"While passing on the fundamental principle of the inherent value of the Constitution, the postwar regime's ideas should be reflected to create a new form and view of Japan through deep discussions on the Constitution, which would pave the way to a new era," he said.

Last month, the lower house passed a bill that sets rules for a national referendum on constitutional amendment. The bill, supported by the ruling coalition, is now under debate in the House of Councillors and is believed to be enacted into law by the end of this month.

Public debates on constitutional revisions have long focused on the war-renouncing Article 9 which says, "The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. "

In a survey by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper released on Wednesday, 78 percent of respondents said that the Constitution, specifically Article 9, has helped to maintain peace in Japan, and about half of respondents thought it's unnecessary to revise the Article.

Source: Xinhua