Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is moving to revise its governance code to ensure its members refrain from having ties with socially problematic organizations.

The revision comes in response to growing criticism against party members suspected of having connections with a religious group previously known as the Unification Church.

In August, the LDP adopted a new basic principle that party members will have no ties with the group and its affiliates.

The revision plan was approved at a meeting of the headquarters for implementing the party's reform on Friday.

The revised code includes a clause to ensure that party members avoid behavior that could be misunderstood as helping organizations whose activities are suspected of being socially problematic.

The new code will also include setting up a system to respond to inquiries from party lawmakers over such organizations.

After the formal approval at the party's general council to be held on Tuesday, the new governance code will be distributed to the LDP's regional branches around Japan.