Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that Japan must consider what role it should play in global affairs as he expressed a willingness to advance the national debate on lifting the self-imposed ban on collective self-defense.

"We will consider and pursue where Japan should stand in global affairs in the 21st century," Abe told a gathering of senior officials and Self-Defense Forces personnel at the Defense Ministry.

Security concerns posed by China and North Korea have prompted Abe to start a review of Japan's defense posture to cope with the changing regional security environment. He has revived a government panel to discuss whether to enable Japan to exercise the U.N. right of collective self-defense, or coming to the aid of an ally that is under armed attack.