Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba have agreed to discuss the possibility of establishing a permanent law authorizing the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF)'s overseas dispatch, Machimura told reporters early Tuesday.
According to the top government spokesman, he and the other two Cabinet ministers agreed to continue their periodical meetings to talk about creating the law and will push for related detailed discussions within the government and the ruling coalition.
The Japanese government is mulling submitting a bill calling for the law to the Diet during its 2008 sessions, sources said.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has been a firm supporter for the idea, Machimura added.
Japan's action pushing for such a general law started during Fukuda's term as chief Cabinet secretary from October 2000 to May 2004. An office was established in the government during that period to study its feasibility and related affairs.
Machimura reiterated that such a permanent law is conducive to promoting swiftness in contingency.
Under Japan's current legal system, the SDF could only be sent into overseas missions after a special temporary law is enacted.
As the country's pacifist Constitution remains as it is, the overseas dispatch of the SDF has been a politically sensitive issue despite of voices arguing that the SDF will only take part in peacekeeping, reconstruction and humanitarian missions.
Some analysts worried that a new permanent law, which will give the government the power to dispatch troops abroad at anytime without the parliament's consent, is more likely to lead to unadvised decisions.
Source:Xinhua
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