Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Sunday that whether to introduce legislation to better prepare for potential foreign aggression is "a problem (Japan) cannot avoid."
The remark, made during a graduation ceremony at the National Defense Academy, is the strongest expression ever used by the premier in public speeches in stressing the importance of the issue.
"It is necessary to consider measures allowing the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to effectively and smoothly implement their missions" in military crises, Obuchi told this year's graduating class of the academy, located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
The government has been studying legislation to that end since 1977, but has never attempted to introduce it.