Masahiko Komura, vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Wednesday he will try to strike an agreement on collective self-defense with junior coalition partner New Komeito so that the decision will be reflected in the Japan-U.S. defense guidelines being revised by the end of this year. Talks are expected to begin next week.
"It is absolutely necessary for the coalition to agree on this issue before Cabinet approval," said Komura, who will be the LDP head of a coalition consultative body on the issue. "It will be difficult, but we will try to reach an agreement in time for the revision of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation."
The discussions to sway a reluctant New Komeito will kick off next Tuesday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlines how the administration will revise Japan's defense posture on Thursday, based on a report compiled by his hand-picked panel.