The Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and New Komeito agreed Thursday that there is not enough time to submit during the current Diet session a bill allowing Japan to inspect unidentified ships, sources said.
In striking a deal over bills to cover updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines in April, the three parties deleted a clause concerning ship inspections, agreeing to draw up and pass a separate bill to deal with the issue in the current Diet session.
But with the session slated to end Aug. 13, they concluded there is not enough time to bridge gaps over conditions for allowing such inspections, the sources said.
The three parties will try to take legislative steps in the extraordinary session expected to convene this fall.
The LDP and the Liberal Party had earlier agreed that ship inspections should be conducted based on established international treaties, agreements and regulations, and that inspections require the permission of the country to which the ship belongs.
New Komeito, which the LDP is wooing to join the coalition, however, has insisted on the need for a United Nations resolution to back such inspections, thereby limiting Self-Defense Forces operations.