So what efforts has Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made to revise the pacifist constitution and boost the country's sluggish economy?

Abe's government has increased defense expenditures in recent years and passed new security laws in 2015, enabling troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.

During the recent cabinet reshuffle, almost half of all members were retained with the right-wing Tomomi Inada named as Defense Minister. To boost Japan's sluggish economy, Abe says he wants to accelerate his "Abenomics" policy, despite its poor performance so far. A stimulus plan was launched in August, amounting to just over 28 trillion yen, that's 276 billion US dollars.