Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has made clear his
disapproval of the long-standing controversial collective
self-defense right, the Tokyo Daily reported on
Wednesday.
The Japanese government's consistent position has been that the
collective self-defense right is not allowed by the pacifist
Constitution, and the position remains, Fukuda said Tuesday at the
Diet's lower house budget committee meeting.
Japan must be prudent on deciding what international activities
are in accordance with the Constitution, the prime minister
added.
Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was a hardliner on
revising the Constitution to make it allow the nation's carrying
out the collective self-defense right. His government launched in
April a panel made up of former diplomats, scholars and former
officials of Self-Defense Forces to build theoretic basis for
circumventing the pacifist Constitution.
The collective self-defense right refers to the legitimacy of
Japan's using of its armed forces to help defend its close allies
when they are under military attack.
(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2007)
