The government and ruling bloc have agreed in principle to ease restrictions on the use of weapons by the Self-Defense Forces if they are engaged in logistic support for U.S.-led retaliatory strikes over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, government sources said Monday.
The issue was to be discussed by the secretaries general and policy officials of the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party at a meeting in the afternoon, the sources said.
The Cabinet hopes to submit a bill to the Diet on Friday regarding Japan's support for the U.S.-led antiterrorist campaign with the aim of seeing legislation enacted during the current extraordinary session.
Until now, the use of weapons by the SDF has been strictly limited under legislation covering U.N. peacekeeping operations and the updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines to stay within the interpretation of the Constitution.
Personnel are currently only allowed to use weapons to defend themselves or to protect fellow SDF members.
The government believes it is necessary to prepare the SDF for dangerous situations that could arise in the event of U.S. strikes, the sources said. These could include terrorists hiding among refugees or targeting sites near logistic support activities, such as makeshift hospitals.