In a major policy change, Japan is considering creating a law that would enable its Self-Defense Forces to provide weapons and ammunition to U.S. and other troops as part of its logistics support, a government source said in Tokyo on Saturday.
The move is in line with the Cabinet's decision on July 1 to expand support to troops of other countries as part of Japan's security policy overhaul.
The government hopes the change regarding the weapons provision will be reflected in the guidelines for U.S.-Japan defense cooperation to be revised by the end of the year, and it aims to submit bills to revise the relevant legislation to the ordinary parliament session next year, the source said.