By Ankit Panda
The DPJ’s Former Vice Defense Minister Akihisa Nagashima supports the LDP’s collective defense proposal.
Japan’s main opposition party may come around to back Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plans for revising Japan’s self-imposed ban on collective self-defense. Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and former Vice Defense Minister Akihisa Nagashima told reporters Wednesday that the DPJ should support the LDP’s proposal to legalize Japan’s right to a “limited” use of the right to collective self-defense, according to The Japan Times. Nagashima said that the proposal made by the deputy head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Masahiko Komura “is acceptable to many DPJ members.”
Nagashima, who served in Naoto Kan’s administration, is a prominent opposition name to endorse bipartisan convergence on the collective defense issue. However, Nagashima’s endorsement does not mean that his entire party is on board for the moment. The DPJ still has significant intra-party opposition to revising the collective defense ban. Still, Nagashima’s endorsement adds important political capital for the Abe administration as it continues to push for a revision of the ban.
Nagashima also mentioned what he saw as expansionist moves by China in justifying his support for revising the ban. This development will likely raise suspicions of Japan in China, which can now credibly point to support for revising Japan’s pacifist constitution across party lines.
Read the full story at The Diplomat