Tokyo ( CNN ) -- Nearly seven decades after the end of World War II , Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected Thursday to call for long-standing limits on the country 's military to be eased to allow it to come to the aid of allies under attack . Abe 's drive to revamp Japanese security policy comes at a time of rising tensions with China and concerns over North Korea 's nuclear weapons program . But the prospect of a historic reinterpretation of the country 's pacifist constitution has caused unease both within Japan and abroad . The United States , Tokyo 's main ally and the nation that oversaw the adoption of the constitution in 1947 , has supported the idea of Japan 's military taking on a more assertive role in the world . As things stand , Japan can only use its military , known as the Self-Defense Forces , to defend itself . Article 9 of the constitution , written in the aftermath of Imperial Japan 's defeat by the allies , says the Japanese people `` forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes . '' If , for example , a U.S. ship came under attack in the Western Pacific , Japan would not be able to offer military help unless it was also threatened . Public opinion divided . Abe , who is eager to strengthen Tokyo 's alliance with Washington , wants Japan to be able to participate in collective self-defense and take a more proactive role in peacekeeping missions . He set up an advisory panel on Japan 's security policy , which delivered its report to him on Thursday . Abe is expected to announce his response to the panel 's conclusions and outline how he plans to proceed . He is unlikely to try to change the constitution , a formidable political challenge that would need the backing of two-thirds of both houses of Parliament and a referendum . Instead , he is expected to propose a reinterpretation of the existing text . Opinion polls suggest Japan is deeply divided over the idea of such a change , with different surveys showing drastically different levels of support and opposition . The constitution , considered by many Japanese to have kept the country out of war since 1945 , is widely respected . Using national security arguments to reinterpret the Constitution on the issue of collective self-defense would `` in effect , eviscerate the constitution , '' warned a commentary published Wednesday in The Asahi Shimbun , a leading English-language daily newspaper in Japan . U.S. support . But one of Abe 's advisers , Tomohiko Taniguchi , told CNN 's Christiane Amanpour last month that Japan has adopted a `` strange interpretation '' of the constitution for `` historical reasons . '' `` Everyone , every individual , and every nation '' has the right to `` act collectively with your like-minded peers , '' he said . A reinterpretation would still require the support of Abe 's governing coalition , including the New Komeito Party , which is considered to have a strong pacifist leaning . The U.S. government , facing complex security challenges around the world , has made it clear it favors a change in Japan 's military stance . `` The United States welcomes Japan 's efforts to play a more proactive role in contributing to global and regional peace and stability , including reexamining the interpretation of its Constitution relating to the rights of collective self-defense , '' Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said during a visit to Tokyo last month . Chinese criticism . However , China , whose rising military spending has been cited by Japanese officials as a reason to adapt , has voiced criticism of the suggested changes . `` Abe 's goal , while stripping a nation of its pacifist identity , simultaneously serves to endanger the lives of the nation 's citizens as their country remilitarizes and , for all intents and purposes , becomes 'war ready , ' '' China 's official news agency Xinhua said in an analysis article last week . Some commentators in the West have also expressed concern about the way Abe appears to be going about the policy overhaul . `` The government 's 'reinterpretation ' is the most profound challenge to the pacifist constitution since 1947 , '' a column in the British magazine The Economist said this week . And an editorial in The New York Times warned that `` such an act would completely undermine the democratic process . '' CNN 's Will Ripley reported from Tokyo , and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong . CNN 's Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report .
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to outline plans to change defense policy . The country 's constitution renounces using force to settle international disputes . Comment: That has prompted concerns within Japan and from China .