Japan should consider implementing a permanent law that stipulates the principles under which the Self-Defense Forces can be dispatched overseas, rather than drawing up sunset legislation every time the need arises, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday.
The comment came during debate on a bill to authorize an SDF dispatch to Iraq. The law would expire after four years.
A similar law already exists. The antiterrorism law, which allows the SDF to provide logistic support to the antiterror campaign in Afghanistan, expires in November, and the government is seeking a two-year extension.