Japan does not need to revise its pacifist Constitution concerning its efforts in security affairs and should focus on international cooperation in nonmilitary areas, former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Sunday.
In a panel discussion held at the University of Tokyo, he said amending war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution is not necessary, saying, "Conditions requiring such an amendment are not present."
Referring to the newly enacted antiterrorism law allowing the Self-Defense Forces to provide the U.S.-led forces with logistic support, he said, "This is the scope of what Japan can do with its Constitution. It's impossible to ask Japan to do more."
In a speech prior to the panel discussion, Miyazawa, a noted opponent of constitutional revision and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Japan should become a nation that other nations can rely on by providing more in overseas aid.
During the panel discussion, students called for the establishment on an equal basis of collective security between Japan and the United States, as well as the revision of Article 9 of the Constitution.
However, Miyazawa said Japan should cooperate with the U.S. only in cases of protecting the lives of Japanese and in issues related to the safety of Japanese territory.