Chen Chang-jui & Staff Reporter
Japan and the United States are preparing to amend the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation in April and have started negotiations on the matter, Japan's leading news agency Kyodo News reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with US-Japan relations.
The defense guidelines delineate the roles of the US military and the Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF) in joint operations.
The revised guidelines are expected to entirely remove geographical limits from the defense partnership, expanding the scope of their bilateral military cooperation beyond "situations in areas around Japan," according to the news report.
At a "two-plus-two" meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in Washington last December, Japan and the United States decided to revise the guidelines. Japan has asked that their next "two-plus-two" talks be held in late April after Japan's local elections, the news agency said.
Read the full story at Want China Times