The deputy chiefs of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its minor coalition partner, Komeito, began discussing security-related legislation on Saturday, including on Japan exercising the right to collective self-defense.

LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura and his Komeito counterpart, Kazuo Kitagawa, will focus on how much to expand the scope of Self-Defense Forces operations based on an interim report on revising Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines.

The LDP and Komeito remain apart on several key issues, however for instance on dispatching the SDF on minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East. The interim report aims to broaden the scope of cooperation between the Japanese and U.S. militaries by scrapping current geographical limits.