The government has drafted a new interpretation of the war-renouncing Constitution that would enable Japan to come in a limited way to the defense of an ally under attack, according to a government source.
Under the draft, the Self-Defense Forces would be allowed to respond within Japan's territorial land, sea and airspace as well as on the high seas — although it would not, in principle, be dispatched to foreign territory.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's team initially intended to give the SDF free rein on where it could operate when exercising the right to collective self-defense.