TOKYO: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government yesterday approved legislation to set up a national security council, moving to strengthen the premier’s grip on foreign policy in the face of North Korean missile threats and a territorial dispute with China.
The hawkish Abe has pursued the formation of Japan’s version of the White House’s National Security Council to centralise information gathering and speed up decision-making, a move welcomed by United States security experts.
“We have put in place a structure that allows Japan to comprehensively monitor the country’s security,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a news conference.
The bills are now to be submitted to the current session of parliament, which ends on June 26, for possible enactment in an extraordinary diet session in the fall. Under the security council framework, the prime minister, chief cabinet secretary, foreign and defence ministers would meet regularly to hammer out strategy, while relevant ministers would be called together to respond to emergency situations.
Ministries would be required to quickly provide key information to help the council play a commanding role in setting security policies and handling national emergencies.
The current security council of nine ministers has been criticised as being too cumbersome, while relevant offices such as the defence and foreign ministries are said to take too long to share critical information.
Abe has also proposed amending the pacifist, United States-drafted constitution to loosen restraints on the military.
REUTERS
