BBC News : US questions Japan's pacifism

US Secretary of State Colin Powell says Japan must consider revising its pacifist constitution if it wants a permanent UN Security Council seat.
Mr Powell told Japan's Kyodo news agency that the US supported Tokyo's quest for a permanent seat at the Security Council.

But he added that: "If Japan is going to play a full role on the world stage and become a full active participating member of the Security Council, and have the kind of obligations that it would pick up as a member of the Security Council, Article Nine would have to be examined in that light."
Mr Armitage told a group of Japanese lawmakers that it would be difficult for Japan to become a permanent member of the Security Council if it could not have a greater military role in international peacekeeping.
Both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party are in favour of a change in the constitution, but many lawmakers and members of the public are unwilling to renounce Japan's pacifist stance.

A poll published in May in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper showed that 78% of Japanese lawmakers were in favour of making some changes to the constitution, but 70% were against alterations to Article Nine.