The Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are currently discussing the idea of including a provision about protecting South Korean Aegis destroyers in a revised version of the Self-Defense Forces Law, which will be submitted to the regular session of the Japanese Diet, newspaper reports indicate. South Korea uses the Aegis destroyers to monitor ballistic missile launches by North Korea.

“The Japanese government notified the ruling party of its plan to include a clause that would allow the Japan Self-Defense Forces to defend the warships of countries other than the US in a revision to legislation pertaining to national security, including the Self-Defense Forces Act, which it plans to submit to the Diet during the current session,” the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said in a Jan. 27 report.

“There is a growing sense inside the Japanese government that the militaries of other countries, including Australia, are likely to participate in a missile defense system. As a result, it began reviewing the idea of revising the law to enable the Japan Self-Defense Forces to defend the military units of other countries - not just the US - to ensure Japan’s security,” the newspaper said, explaining why the Japanese government had decided on this course of action.

When the Japanese cabinet announced in June 2014 that it was altering its interpretation of the constitution to allow the exercise of the right of collective self-defense, it stated that it would revise the law to enable the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to take the minimum necessary military action to defend US warships or other military units that are acting in concert with the JSDF to protect Japan. As a specific example of what such a revision might mean, the Japanese government explained that Japan could defend American Aegis destroyers off the coast of Japan that can detect ballistic missiles launches in North Korea.

If the Japanese government’s plan takes effect, the JSDF would be responsible for protecting not only US vessels, but any vessels that are contributing to the defense of Japan. While the Mainichi Shimbun mentioned Australia as a country to which the plan could apply, realistically speaking, South Korea‘s Aegis destroyers - which are capable of tracking North Korea’s ballistic missiles - are expected to be the primary beneficiaries of protection by the JSDF. On Dec. 29, 2014, South Korea, the US, and Japan signed an agreement about sharing intelligence related to threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles.

Concerns are growing that this information-sharing agreement will ultimately bring South Korea one step closer to joining the US-led missile defense program, while accelerating military integration between the three countries. “The cabinet decision only provides overall guidance.

There is no problem with passing laws that include points that were not mentioned in the original decision,” a Japanese government official said in regard to the fact that the cabinet decision in July 2014 did not discuss an expansion of the JSDF’s defensive responsibilities. 　


By Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent