The WSJ reports,"ruling-coalition officials said Mr. Abe wanted his cabinet to change the interpretation of the nation's pacifist constitution by next week, an ambitious timetable that is causing friction with the coalition's junior partner. The change would permit Japan to exercise the right of "collective self-defense," meaning its military, or Self-Defense Forces, could come to the defense of allies like the U.S. even if Japan itself wasn't attacked.
Speaking during parliament's question time Wednesday, the prime minister reiterated his aim of playing a leading regional role in countering China".
Mr. Abe cited Beijing's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea and North Korea's nuclear threat in saying that Japan's military had to enhance deterrence in the face of an "increasingly severe security situation in the Asia-Pacific."
Ruling-party lawmakers crowded into the parliament committee room and cheered Mr. Abe as he raised his voice to hail the patriotism of the nation's soldiers. "Even at this very moment, there are SDF troops in the southwestern seas and airspace who risk their own safety to protect Japanese lives," he said.
His emotional appeal, however, was met with sarcastic chiding from Banri Kaieda, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, who said the prime minister was "getting drunk on his own speech."
Mr. Kaieda said Mr. Abe was himself "a big risk for Japan's security," pointing to his visit in December to Yasukuni Shrine, the Tokyo site that honors Japan's war dead including some war criminals. The visit drew a rare admonition from Washington and infuriated China and South Korea, which consider the shrine a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
Mr. Abe's strong poll ratings and the dominant position of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party are likely to allow the constitutional reinterpretation to go forward next week if he wants it.
The move to collective self-defense doesn't require parliamentary approval.
But the quick timetable is facing resistance from the LDP's pacifist-leaning junior coalition partner, New Komeito, while the public also appears wary of moving ahead now.
New Komeito leaders have said they want to discuss in more detail how the military would participate in overseas conflicts.
They say Japan's constitution, under the current decades-old interpretation, already permits its military to come to the aid of the U.S. forces in the event of an attack in the region.
A poll taken by Japan's national broadcaster NHK over the weekend showed opinion was split evenly on whether Japan should exercise its right to collective self-defense, with many respondents unsure. Even some on the right are skeptical of Mr. Abe's approach, saying it would be better to revise the constitution itself rather than the interpretation of it. That could take years, however.
Since taking office in December 2012, Mr. Abe has tried to step up Japan's role in the region to make Japan a more-equal partner with the U.S.
But China, which was invaded by Japan in the 1930s, has warned that such moves could spell a return of Japan's militarism, and it has said the U.S.-Japan alliance is improperly targeting China.
The recent standoff between China and Vietnam over an oil rig China placed in disputed parts of the South China Sea has in turn fueled worries in Japan about its own territorial feud with Beijing over a tiny group of islands in the East China Sea.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Chinese fighter jets flew perilously close to Japanese SDF aircraft in the East China Sea, and he said Tokyo filed an official complaint to Beijing through diplomatic channels. The incident follows similar encounters in May that led each side to protest to the other. As of Wednesday evening, Beijing hadn't released an official response to Japan's latest assertion.
