Just over 40 percent in Japan are supportive of efforts to revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the nation's Constitution, while over half oppose, a poll showed Wednesday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has advocated amending the top law, proposing that a paragraph of Article 9 that bans Japan from possessing a military with "war potential" is retained while stressing the need to clarify the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces.

In the mail survey conducted by Kyodo News, which saw valid responses from 1,930 people aged 18 and older, 29 percent said the purpose and character of the country's defense forces should be clarified with the deletion of the paragraph, while 27 percent said they saw no need to mention the SDF in the article.