The Constitution marks its 60th anniversary on May 2. This is the first in a series of interviews with politicians and experts on whether or how the charter should be changed.

Article 9, the war-renouncing component of the Constitution, should be revised to widen — but also set clear limits on — the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' activities, according to a key player in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

House of Representatives member Hajime Funada, former chairman of the LDP's research panel on constitutional issues, is an advocate of revising Article 9.