Japan, U.S. to Adopt New Defense Guidelines on April 27

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese and U.S. governments plan to hold a meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in Washington on April 27 to adopt revised guidelines on defense cooperation between the two countries, informed sources said Friday. The "two-plus-two" meeting will be followed by a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama in the U.S. capital the next day. The Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines will be renewed for the first time in 18 years in response to changes in the security environment, including the rise of China's maritime power. The renewal of the guidelines also follows the Abe cabinet's decision in July last year to lift Japan's self-imposed ban on collective self-defense by changing the long-held government interpretation that the nation's constitution does not allow the exercise of the right to collective self-defense. According to the sources, the new guidelines will stipulate each country's roles in a broader range of emergency situations, from nonmilitary "grey-zone" cases to military attacks against Japan. On the premise of Japan's Diet passing new security legislation to enable the country to exercise the collective self-defense right, the guidelines will call for expanded Japanese logistic support for U.S. forces, removing the existing geographical limitations. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces will also be allowed to defend U.S. warships and supply ammunition to the U.S. military, acts that had been considered unconstitutional before the cabinet decision. The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan has criticized the government for revising the defense cooperation guidelines before the Diet deliberates the security legislation. "The government has not given sufficient explanations (about the planned legislation) to the public," DPJ leader Katsuya Okada said at a press conference. Ahead of the two-plus-two meeting, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will hold talks in Tokyo Wednesday. Besides the defense chiefs, the Washington meeting will be joined by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. END