MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Japanese government is reinterpreting current guidelines in order to allow the Self-Defense Forces’ (SDF) to provide logistical support to US forces in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Wednesday.
The new policy would permit Japan to provide the US with arms, ammunition and airborne refueling to military fighter jets. Changes to current Japan-US Defense Cooperation Guidelines are to be included in an interim report scheduled for September, The Yomiuri Shimbun confirmed.
The current Japan-US guidelines provide a general framework for the roles of both nations in cooperation under normal and emergency circumstances, according to the Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The guidelines require Japan to act in line with its constitution and both the United States and Japan to abide by the basic principles of international law.
The upcoming revision is taking place on the back of a reinterpretation of the country’s security agreement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet in July, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. On July 1, the cabinet approved a reinterpretation of the constitution that allows Japanese forces to expand the right to collective self-defense, a policy widely disapproved by Japan’s public, with polls revealing 55 percent of the population opposed to the proposal, and 60 percent against any changes to the constitution, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported.
Japan to Permit Logistical Support to US Forces | Military & Intelligence | RIA Novosti
