The Liberal Democratic Party is moving ahead fast in talks to lift the nation's self-imposed restrictions on collective self-defense as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues his quest for a more proactive role in the Japan-U.S. alliance.
LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba said new laws will have to clearly define when Japan can exercise the right to prevent further reinterpretations from occurring when the government changes hands.
"We need a positive list to detail cases under which we can exercise the right. We would not exercise the right without any limits," Ishiba said Monday at the LDP's second meeting on security-related matters. It set up a team last month to study how to respond to changing security situations in the region and beyond.