Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe will make an appeal for a "complete revision of the current Constitution" in his expected campaign for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party in September, sources close to him said Sunday.
Abe, the front-runner to replace Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, will make clear his desire to approve exercising the right of collective defense, which is banned under the pacifist Constitution, the sources said.
However, his stance toward the war-renouncing Article 9 is likely to stir concern among some in the LDP and in New Komeito, the LDP's ruling coalition partner.
Abe said in a speech in May that some provisions in the Constitution, such as Article 9, are behind the times and that revision "will become a big issue for the next Cabinet" after Koizumi steps down.