TOKYO, JAPAN — Japan should acquire amphibious units like the US Marines and surveillance drones, newspapers on Thursday reported a government paper will say this week, as a territorial dispute with China rumbles on.
The interim report, to be issued as early as Friday by the Defense Ministry, will also promote “the need to boost a comprehensive capability of containment” as part of anti-ballistic missile measures against North Korea, reports said.
The phraseology falls short of any mention of “pre-emptive strike capability” but reflects an ongoing debate in Japan’s defense community about the need to reinterpret aspects of the pacifist country’s military stance.
Nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Japan needs to discuss the idea of having some kind of first strike provision if it is to effectively counter threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
However, observers say he must tread carefully. Japan’s constitutionally prescribed pacifism enjoys wide support in the country at large and is particularly cherished by Abe’s coalition partners, a centrist Buddhist party.
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