The Cabinet will set up an emergency headquarters in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack and prefectural governors will be able to request Self-Defense Forces help, according to a draft of proposed counterterrorism measures obtained by Kyodo News.
The measures will be in a government bill to protect the public in the event of a military attack. The bill is to be submitted during the current Diet session. Two related bills, on the provision of weapons and ammunition to U.S. forces and the use of designated public facilities in the event of emergencies, will also be submitted.
The bills supplement a set of war-contingency laws that define the national government's response to a foreign attack or threat of one, chiefly pertaining to the SDF. The laws, enacted in June, stirred public concern that they could run counter to the war-renouncing Constitution.