Following the gruesome executions of two Japanese by the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems more eager than ever for legal authority to deploy Self-Defense Forces elements overseas, saying it is the government¡¯s duty to rescue its citizens.
Although he has denied the possibility of deploying SDF assets to rescue Japanese in cases like the recent hostage crisis in Syria, Abe¡¯s Liberal Democratic Party hopes to loosen the strict SDF limits on weapons use to purportedly pave the way for rescue missions overseas.
The Cabinet¡¯s decision last July to reinterpret the Constitution to sidestep war-renouncing Article 9 was a watershed moment. Now the ruling coalition is debating security legislation to give that decision teeth. The SDF rescue missions and weapons issues are believed to be a prominent part of the talks, and more than 10 bills are planned for submission to the Diet ¡ª after the April elections.
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