The House of Representatives Special Committee on Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation is winding down its deliberations on the guidelines legislation. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is eager to secure passage of the bills in the Lower House before he leaves for the United States later this month for talks with President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Obuchi's anxiety is understandable. After all, the guidelines were written in September 1997 and legislation has been languishing in the Diet for an entire year. Given the uncertainties of the post-Cold War security framework in this part of the world, Japan must redefine its security arrangements with its American ally. The new guidelines are intended to do exactly that -- hence, we need to know where we stand as a nation before we put our security commitments in the statute book.

Two central issues remain unresolved. Under the new defense guidelines, the Japanese government is supposed to mobilize the Self-Defense Forces in support of U.S. forces in the event of "emergencies surrounding Japan." But Diet deliberations, so far, have shed little light on the precise circumstances that would lead Japan to put its armed forces in harm's way. The second issue concerns parliamentary authority: Must the government seek Diet approval before mobilizing the SDF? Or would a mere after-the-fact nod from the legislature be good enough? These are fundamental issues, directly affecting the self-defense doctrine that each Japanese government has faithfully upheld under the postwar Constitution.