The ruling coalition on Tuesday abandoned the idea of introducing a bill to ban Japanese nationals from traveling to dangerous countries, fearing that a law of this kind could violate the Constitution, coalition officials said.
Instead, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed to urge the government to consider whether the Foreign Ministry travel advisory framework could be bolstered.
In response to the recent hostage crisis in Iraq, where five Japanese civilians were taken captive in two separate incidents earlier this month, LDP policy chief Fukushiro Nukaga and other coalition officials had advocated legislation to ban visits to dangerous countries.
But Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has questioned the constitutionality of such a ban, noting that the Constitution guarantees citizens the freedom to move to foreign countries.
Some LDP officials have also been concerned that it would be difficult to designate specific countries as dangerous.