Abe hints at future study on enemy base attack ability

August 7, 2017

HIROSHIMA- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has suggested that the government may launch a study in the future on the possibility of equipping the country with the ability to strike enemy bases before it is hit by a ballistic missile or other weapons.

"At present, we have no plan to make a concrete study" on the matter, Abe told a press conference in the western Japan city of Hiroshima on Sunday.

But he added, "At a time when the security situation surrounding our country is becoming tougher, we should consider various measures to protect the lives and assets of the Japanese people while always looking at the reality squarely."

Still, he said that there has been no change at all in Japan's exclusively defense-oriented policy. "We will stick to this policy in the future," Abe said.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who assumed the post in a cabinet shake-up last Thursday, has indicated his intention to study the advisability of Japan possessing the ability to attack enemy bases as a way to strengthen its capabilities to deal with ballistic missiles.

At a separate press conference in Hiroshima on Sunday, Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, the coalition partner of Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, sounded cautious about Japan acquiring the enemy base attack ability.

He said: "We should study this issue in a cool-headed manner. Our country is playing a central role in the campaign to denuclearize North Korea in cooperation with the international community." Jiji Press