"As far as I know, there has been no developed country which did not amend its constitution," Taro Aso, policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told a news conference.

"It is wrong to regard the Constitution as a code of law that will be in effect forever," Aso said.

"There is a mood that we are not allowed to protect ourselves, but in many ways, we have to count on ourselves," Aso said.

Article Nine of the 1947 constitution, drawn up under US-led occupation, renounces war and the use of force for settling international disputes, and states that "land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."

Up to now, Japan has assumed it retains the right to self-defence and has skirted round the constitutional difficulty by euphemistically labelling its powerful military "Self-Defence Forces".

"It is a big problem that the Constitution implies ambiguity over defence and other points, and so it is better to amend it," Aso added.

Aso's remarks echoed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's plan to include an amendment to the constitution in his platform for the party's presidential election, which secures the nation's premiership.

Koizumi was seen likely to retain his post as LDP president in a party poll September 20 as no serious challenger to him has yet to emerge.

Koizumi agreed last week with another senior LDP official to draw up a proposal for an amendment to the constitution by November 2005 when the conservative party marks its 50th anniversary in 2005.

Koizumi, one of the most hawkish post-war premiers, has said the constitution should be changed to formally recognise the country's Self-Defence Forces as a full-fledged military.

A change in the constitution has long been regarded as taboo in Japanese politics amid strong opposition at home and abroad -- in particular in Asian countries still haunted by bitter memories of Japan's militarism.

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