According to a report in Japan's Kyodo News Service, at a joint meeting on April 22, the Foreign Affairs and Defense committees of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a draft revision to the country's Self-Defense Forces Law which would allow greater latitude in the use of force by Japan's armed forces. A previous draft of the bill would have allowed Japanese forces to use only minimal force if their lives were endangered while performing search and rescue or maritime inspection duties. The new draft of the bill states that Japanese forces may use weapons "to the extent judged reasonably necessary." Furthermore, Kyodo News Service reports that the draft bill allows Japanese forces to use weapons "when they evacuate overseas Japanese nationals, at places where planes and ships are located, and along the routes they take to escort Japanese to planes or ships." Prime Minister Hashimoto's cabinet is expected to approve the draft bill on April 28, and then pass it on to the Japanese Diet for final approval.

Japan was banned by Article 9 of their US-influenced post-war constitution from using their military in anything but a self-defense role. Throughout the Cold War, this provision served the country well, as the United States carried the economic burden of defending Japanese interests in return for bases from which to confront the Soviet Pacific Fleet. Since the end of the Cold War, however, Japan has been engaged in an internal debate over whether the country's significant role in international economic affairs demanded commensurate participation in the politico-military realm. This debate received added impetus during the 1990-91 Gulf War, and during the 1996-97 hostage crisis at the Japanese embassy in Peru. An April 21 article in the Yomiuri Shimbun bemoaned the fact that Japan's claims on the disputed Senkaku, Takeshima, and Kurile islands were weakened by the constitutional constraints that prevented Japan from projecting an effective military presence in the region.

With the Asian financial meltdown and, more to the point, Washington's tepid response, Japan has been confronted by the fact that they are largely on their own. The United States' close cooperation with Japan on economic and military matters throughout the Cold War was driven more by the need to contain the Soviets than by US love of Toyotas. As US and Japanese interests have become unlinked, Japan has pursued a foreign policy more at odds with that of the United States. Japan's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Masahiko Komura, is currently on a four-day visit to Tehran, where he has touted Iran's "key role in regional stability." Komura asserted that Japan seeks increased political and economic ties with Iran. Japan is also pursuing the conclusion of a final peace treaty with Russia, and is eagerly pursuing a variety of energy and development projects throughout Russia, at a time when Russian and American interests are once again beginning to clash in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Japan is stepping away from its former symbiotic relationship with the United States, and part of that step is the easing of restrictions on Japanese force projection. As Japan vies with China to become the dominant regional power, we expect this initial revision of the Self-Defense Forces Law to be followed soon by more substantial changes.