The Democratic Party of Japan may change its stance and endorse collective defense, under certain circumstances.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The main opposition party put the proposal into a draft policy platform, which until now has maintained that exercising the right to collective defense is banned under the war-renouncing Constitution. The DPJ also wants to promote compulsory education through high school.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The party said Tuesday that if it was in power, Japan would take the lead in promoting nuclear disarmament, take part actively in U.N. peacekeeping operations, continue to strengthen its alliance with the United States as an equal partner, and build mutual trust with China, South Korea and other Asian neighbors.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'The right of self-defense shall be exercised in the limited situation' where an imminent transgression 'directly threatens the peace and security of our country, in conformity with Article 9 of the Constitution and on the basis of the principle of an exclusively defensive policy, without dwelling on the history of discussions on whether it is individual or collective –

," the proposal says. "Under no other circumstances shall force be used," it says.

In disclosing the policy draft, Hirotaka Akamatsu, chairman of the nine-member panel that compiled the proposal, and DPJ policy chief Takeaki Matsumoto did not provide further clarification of the party's definition of collective defense.