By Franz-Stefan Gady
A new permanent law on dispatching JSDF overseas would not require a constitutional amendment.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) plan to draw up a new permanent law that would accelerate the deployment of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) for peacekeeping operations and speed-up JSDF logistical support for the United States and other regional allies.
Shinzo Abe’s stated aim is to pass new legislation in the first few months of 2015. Back in December 2014, the Japanese prime minister instructed the newly appointed Defense Minister Gen Nakatoni – a former JSDF officer and graduate of the prestigious National Defense Academy – to create a legal framework to enable a “seamless” response to security contingencies threatening Japan.
In the past, the Japanese Diet had to pass ad-hoc laws to authorize the deployment of JSDF forces abroad. For example, special legislation was passed for Japan to participate in refueling missions to support multinational forces in Afghanistan in the early 2000, or to dispatch the JSDF to “non-combat areas” in Iraq.
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