LDP, Komei, DPJ lawmakers call for a militarist Japan

A group of Dietmembers from the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Japan, and the Komei Party proposed that Japan exercise the right of collective self-defense, introduce the cruise missile system, and reconsider the Three Non-nuclear Principles.

These proposals were specified in a document titled, "For concrete plans for proactive defense strategy"written by the Parliamentarian Council for National Security on the occasion of the Japan-U.S. Defense Strategy Council meeting held from November 20 to 22 in Tokyo.

The "proactive defense strategy" denies the present national policy of exclusively defensive defense or the minimum use of force on the grounds of growing threats from terrorists or "rogue nations"

The document argues that the interpretation of the right of collective self-defense be changed in order to enable Japan to exercise the right of collective defense and build a full-fledged structure to dispatch the country's Self-Defense Forces abroad.

The document suggests that Japan promote a missile defense system, possess cruise missiles, and add the capability to attack enemy bases in a national emergency.

The document also calls for a review of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles of not to produce, possess, or allow nuclear weapons to be brought in Japan. (end)