The Defense Agency has concluded that a senior Ground Self-Defense Force officer's recent drafting of a constitutional amendment did not breach the principle of civilian control over the military.
The officer handed the draft to Gen Nakatani, a House of Representatives member and former Defense Agency chief, as a "personal" proposal, the agency said in a report on an internal probe into the controversy, adding that it saw no major legal problems connected to the act.
The officer has been identified only as a lieutenant colonel assigned to the Plans and Operations Department of the Ground Staff Office. He drafted the amendment at the request of Nakatani, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker.