Former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Sunday criticized a proposed constitutional change that could give the nation a more assertive international military presence, and said improving relations with China and South Korea is an urgent matter.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The Liberal Democratic Party marked its 50th anniversary last week by proposing draft changes to the pacifist Constitution that would give an official role to the armed forces, allowing them to assist military allies and participate in armed international peacekeeping missions.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>But Miyazawa attacked the proposal, saying the Constitution should strictly limit military activities overseas.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'I firmly believe Japan should not engage in armed combat overseas,' he said on a TV Asahi talk show. 'This is not an issue the –

Liberal Democratic Party can so easily decide on its own."

The Constitution renounces war and bars the country from using military force in international disputes.

But the government put forth an interpretation in 1992 -- when Miyazawa was prime minister -- that allowed the Self-Defense Forces to have noncombat roles in international peacekeeping operations.

Any constitutional change must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Diet and a majority of the population in a national referendum. No timetable has been set to present the draft to the Diet.

Miyazawa also said Japan urgently needs to improve relations with China and South Korea, which have sunk to their lowest in decades amid a series of territorial disputes and disagreements over interpretations of wartime history.

"If Yasukuni Shrine is the problem, it needs to be addressed," Miyazawa said, referring to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the shrine closely associated with Japan's past militarism, which has provoked strong protests from Beijing and Seoul.