Seiji Maehara of the Democratic Party of Japan has proposed setting up a military unit under the Cabinet specializing in U.N.-authorized international cooperation and peacekeeping operations, DPJ sources said Saturday.
Maehara, the Defense Agency chief in the DPJ's shadow Cabinet, said a unit comprising troops on loan from the Self-Defense Forces should be placed under the Cabinet Office and be separate from the SDF.
He made the proposal to spur discussions at the DPJ security research panel about Japan's future participation in multinational forces to be formed under U.N. resolutions.
But critics have said creating a unit other than the SDF for multinational forces would be a waste of money.