Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pressed by China and seeking to strengthen ties with the U.S., is considering Japan¡¯s biggest change in military engagement rules since World War II.
Barred by the traditional interpretation of the pacifist Constitution from protecting other nations¡¯ troops, the 59-year-old Abe says Japan needs broader deployment abilities.
Having increased the defense budget two years running and set up a U.S.-style National Security Council, Abe is now seeking to allow Japan to come to the aid of its allies, telling the Diet last month that ¡°it¡¯s about whether we can exercise this right that every country has.¡±
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