Komeito chief warns Abe over constitutional revision

The New Komeito party would refrain from supporting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign for the upcoming House of Councillors election if the premier goes too far in calling for amending the Constitution, the party's head warned Sunday.

The New Komeito party, the coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, will tolerate Abe's seeking constitutional revision in general terms, but "will have to hesitate in giving support if fundamentally different ideas from ours are called for," Akihiro Ota said in a TV Asahi talk show. "What is important is the substance," Ota said. "It would make no sense if we do not discuss what should be revised in the Constitution."