AustralianPerson comments

With much respect, allow one to put an Australian perspective in regards to this discussion.

I am certain we too would certainly support Japan "revising the 'pacifist' constitution" if that is how your constitution may appear in Japan. But, allow one to say, please do so with sensitivity and genuine international understanding.

The authors of this article note, "Washington worries that Abe's efforts to strike a less apologetic tone on wartime history will further strain ties with China and South Korea, who suffered under Japan's occupation and colonization before and during World War Two."

That may be true for China and South Korea. It is certainly true for Australia. We most definitely suffered at the hands of Japan in World War Two. And, with much respect, I am not sure that many Japanese people today are aware of this historical fact.

Substantial numbers of Australian civilians died when Japanese planes bombed many of our cities at the start of the war. And at least one Japanese submarine sank an innocent passenger ship in Sydney harbour. Up till then we had been very friendly towards Japan and we had done absolutely nothing in any way aggressive towards Japan.

For anyone interested, here are official Australian government accounts of this aggression:

http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/japanese-bombing-of-darwin (and) http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs195.aspx

So, my point is, of course we do not hold grudges. But neither do we want these tragic facts forgotten. That would indeed be disrespectful to the many innocent Australian civilians who died at the hands of Japanese military forces

So please by all means dear Japanese folk, do develop more well earned pride in your fine culture and history if that seems necessary. But simply dear friends, we would ask, don't forget Australia's history also.