In October 2005, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) approved draft proposals whose main thrust is to revise the Preamble and Article 9 of Japan's Constitution. The new preamble includes "the obligation to support ourselves . . . with love for the country and society to which we belong," a veiled reference to patriotism, a word that was dropped from an earlier version to appease the opposition.

Since coming to power in September last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made instilling patriotism — in schools as well as through the Constitution — a key feature of his political agenda. The actual procedure for constitutional revision takes time, but the plans are very much alive.

The governing party's intentions have attracted strong reactions from liberal and neutral circles in Japan and abroad, ranging from mild concern to profound alarm. While Japanese politics show no signs of an imminent swing to the extreme right, and the vast majority of Japanese citizens no doubt would not want to see their country go down the perilous path of narrow-minded nationalism, these developments nevertheless deserve to be critically scrutinized by the international community. Indeed they are because of Japan's status as one of the world's major powers. The final decision obviously is with the Japanese people. But airing the issues and widening the debate may help.