Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution Referendum is a referendum that was expected to take place in 2020. In May 2017, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set a 2020 deadline for revising Article 9, which would legitimize the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the Japanese constitution. Abe and his Cabinet resigned in September 2020, due to Abe's health problems. Under his successor Yoshihide Suga, parliament revised referendum law in June 2021 to make it easier to vote by allowing temporary voting station. The move was considered as a step toward the possibility of the constitutional referendum taking place. Prime Minister Kishida renewed calls for the referendum in May 2023. In February after her landslide victory in the 2026 Japan election, Prime Minister Takaichi called for a debate on revising the constitution.