The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito agreed in principle Tuesday to make Diet approval a precondition "without exception" for every Self-Defense Forces deployment overseas intended to provide logistic support to foreign militaries.
The move is a concession to Komeito, whose approval is needed to pass a package of state-sponsored security bills aimed at allowing the SDF to handle new types of missions overseas as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "proactive pacifism." A final agreement could come before the new Japan-U.S. defense guidelines are released on April 27.
LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura told reporters he wants the coalition to reach a deal — and have the wording of the bills sorted — by May 11.
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