Staff writers The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States awakened Tokyo to the possibility that similar incidents could take place here, prompting lawmakers to review Japan's own emergency contingency preparedness.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced plans to revise the Self-Defense Forces law to allow troops to guard key public facilities. The move came after the government was unable to meet U.S. military requests last week to have the SDF guard their bases in Japan following the attacks in New York and Washington.
Once the revision is approved in the upcoming Diet session, which convenes Thursday, SDF personnel -- with approval from the prime minister -- will be allowed to join police to guard such facilities as the Diet building, the Prime Minister's Official Residence, nuclear plants and U.S. military installations throughout the country.