U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has urged Japan to declare the right to collective defense so its missile defense shield can be used to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles targeted at the United States, according to Japanese and U.S. diplomatic sources.
Gates made the call during talks with Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma late last month in Washington, the sources said.
Exercising the right to collective defense — coming to the aid of an ally under attack — is banned under the government's current interpretation of the Constitution.