DPRK accuses Japan of passing "imperialist law"

·Japan passed a law that sets out the rules for a referendum on revising its constitution. ·"The main purpose of this law is to scrap Article 9 of the Constitution", said the KCNA. ·People expressed concerns over any changes to Article 9, which renounces war..     PYONGYANG, May. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday lashed out at Japan for passing a law that sets out the rules for a referendum on revising its constitution, a move it says will be a threat to peace in Asia and the world.     "It is nothing but an imperialist law to turn Japan into a state for war and aggression", said a commentary issued by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).     The commentary comes after Japan's parliament passed and enacted into law a referendum bill on Constitution revision on May 14.     Any amendment to Japan's constitution must be initiated by parliament and supported by two-thirds of lawmakers in both houses and then receive a majority vote in a referendum.     Under the new law, the first legislation to establish rules for such a referendum, Japanese citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote in a constitutional referendum.     "The main purpose of this law is to scrap Article 9 of the Constitution", said the KCNA.     The debate over changing the constitution has mostly focused on Article 9, which states: "The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes."     "With the enactment of the law, Japan's Pacifist Constitution may cease to exist anytime and the military and political situation in Asia has reached the worst phase since the end of World War II",the KCNA said.     The commentary also criticized Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, for repeatedly pledging to keep the issue of constitutional revision at the top of his agenda since he began campaigning last September to become leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.     Japan's constitution has not been revised since it came into effect in 1947. Recent surveys found that over half of the respondents think the supreme law should be amended.     However, a majority of people expressed concerns over any changes to Article 9, which renounces war.     Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony from 1910 to 1945, when 8.4 million slave workers were kidnapped and sent to Japan and 200,000 women were forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese army.