Japan's war-renouncing Constitution does not prohibit it from requesting a pre-emptive attack against North Korea's ballistic missile bases if weapons are targeted at Japan and there is no other way for the country to defend itself, government ministers told a key Diet panel session on Friday.
Shigeru Ishiba, director general of the Defense Agency, also told the House of Representatives Budget Committee that Japan does not currently have the military capability to conduct pre-emptive attacks against a foreign country.
"We will consider the start (of a military attack) if (Pyongyang) expresses an intention to demolish Tokyo and starts fueling its missiles to realize that," Ishiba told the committee.