Following the gruesome executions of two Japanese by the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems more eager than ever for legal authority to deploy Self-Defense Forces elements overseas, saying it is the government's duty to rescue its citizens.
Although he has denied the possibility of deploying SDF assets to rescue Japanese in cases like the recent hostage crisis in Syria, Abe's Liberal Democratic Party hopes to loosen the strict SDF limits on weapons use to purportedly pave the way for rescue missions overseas.
The Cabinet's decision last July to reinterpret the Constitution to sidestep war-renouncing Article 9 was a watershed moment. Now the ruling coalition is debating security legislation to give that decision teeth. The SDF rescue missions and weapons issues are believed to be a prominent part of the talks, and more than 10 bills are planned for submission to the Diet — after the April elections.