The leader of the Democratic Party of Japan proposed Wednesday to discuss a revision of the Constitution to enable the Self-Defense Forces to take part in overseas peacemaking missions that may involve the use of force.
"I would like to see discussions on whether Japan should take part in peacekeeping operations as their role is shifting from the conventional one centering on monitoring ceasefires to enforcing peace in the world," Yukio Hatoyama said at a meeting of a group of DPJ lawmakers at the Diet.
As an example of the need for revision, he cited the recent case in which Japan did not send SDF troops to participate in peacekeeping operations in East Timor because of the constitutional constraint.
"Given Japan's national interests, if it were Sierra Leone, there may be little need for Japan to participate," he said. "But if it is Indonesia, why should we not consider taking part?" The SDF has participated in U.N. peacekeeping missions in Cambodia, Mozambique and the Golan Heights under a 1992 law that enables the dispatching of the SDF for U.N. peacekeeping operations.
However, the SDF is banned under the law from participating in tasks such as monitoring demilitarized zones and collecting and disposing abandoned weapons, as they may put SDF members in a position to use weapons, in violation of the Constitution.