Japan's defence ban must be revised, says government panel
Rewriting constitution is too hard for now, so reinterpretation to let Tokyo help allies is vital to counter a resurgent China, advisers warn
A panel set up by the Japanese government is to recommend a reinterpretation of the section of the constitution that bans the nation from assisting allies at a time of military crisis - legally described as collective defence - until there is enough public support for rewriting the constitution.
The 14-strong panel held its latest round of discussions on Tuesday, examining the best ways in which Japan might enhance its defences given the growing threats to regional stability.
Those perceived threats were not specified, but the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made no secret of the fact that it sees a resurgent China as a challenge to peace in the Asia-Pacific region.
This is a quite extraordinarily bad situation that US ships can assist Japanese vessels, but not the other way around
There also are fears over an unpredictable and nuclear-armed North Korea.
The panel, headed by Shunji Yanai, a former Japanese ambassador to the United States, will suggest that the strict terms of the constitution can be circumvented by reinterpreting them.
Revising the relevant sections would be more difficult - requiring the support of two-thirds of both chambers of the parliament, as well as the broad support of the public.
But Abe has said that such a revision is his ultimate ambition.
In Tuesday's meeting, which was attended by Abe, the panel said it would present a draft version of its recommendations in the coming weeks and then a final report after April.