TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2022) The proposal of the Japanese government to acquire offensive strike capabilities, which is expected to be discussed as early as November, will prohibit the country's forces from conducting preemptive attacks, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Sunday, citing sources in the government.
According to the news agency, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito are still divided over the scope of the use of the strike capabilities. Some members of Komeito insist that Japan should be able to invoke them only if the country is under a direct attack, whereas the LDP proposes to allow conduct such strikes if a friendly nation is under attack and Japan's survival is threatened.
If the ruling coalition reaches an agreement on the so-called enemy base strike capability, a corresponding provision will likely be enshrined in Japan's updated national security strategy, which may be adopted by the end of 2022.
In January, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the country's authorities would submit three updated defense documents by the end of the year. Along with the national security strategy, those also include standards of the national defense program, and the medium-term defense program.
Over the years, there has been a debate over possible amendments to Article 9 of Japan's post-WWII constitution. Under this article, Japan renounces the right to have a standing army or engage in wars to resolve international conflicts. Although the country maintains the Japan Self-Defense Forces, their offensive potential is very limited.
