Japan Press Weekly

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2009 June 3 - 9 [POLITICS]

LDP calls for Japan to have capability to attack enemy bases

A ruling Liberal Democratic Party panel on national defense is calling for Japan to have the capability to preemptively attack enemy bases and to increase military expenditures, with a possible North Korean missile attack as justification.

The panel included this in a proposal it compiled for a new National Defense Program Outline which is to be completed by the end of this year.

The proposal states that Japan should “be capable of launching an attack on enemy territory,” while stressing the importance of establishing a “stronger cooperative framework between Japan and the United States.”

It also calls for an increase in Self-Defense Forces personnel and military expenditure so that the SDF can be sent on more overseas missions, including in the waters off the coast of Somalia, arguing, “Japan is called upon to take part in international peace cooperation and use its defense capabilities in many ways.”