In an apparent bid to draw attention to his pet project while his popularity tumbles, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe increased pressure on his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to speed up its work on revising the Constitution.

But some members of the LDP doubt Saturday's move in Kobe will help shore up his numbers, which have fallen considerably over multiple allegations of favoritism. Now they are cautioning Abe, who doubles as party president, not to push the contentious issue in a hasty manner.

At the gathering in Kobe, Abe revealed a plan for the party to submit a draft for amending the Constitution to special panels dedicated to the issue in both the Lower and Upper houses by the end of the next extraordinary Diet session, which is likely to convene this fall.