TOKYO, Sept. 18 KYODOYasuo Fukuda, a former chief Cabinet secretary widely tipped to become Japan's prime minister next week, said Tuesday he hopes to seek legislation to enable the overseas dispatch of Japanese troops at any time, doing away with the current requirement of passing special measures laws for each occasion.
In an exclusive interview with Kyodo News, Fukuda also indicated he will effectively shelve discussions about revising the pacifist Constitution in three years' time, a campaign pledge made by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party as part of outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative political agenda.
The 71-year-old Fukuda has the upper hand over his rival, 66-year-old LDP Secretary General Taro Aso, ahead of Sunday's LDP presidency election. Fukuda has secured wide support from party lawmakers in all but Aso's faction. The winner is assured the premiership given the party's control of the House of Representatives, which has final say in picking the prime minister, though the LDP has lost its grip on power in the upper house.
Fukuda reiterated that if he becomes prime minister, he would be unlikely to make major changes to the Cabinet lineup given the fact that parliament is in session.
Abe abruptly announced his resignation on Sept. 12, just two days after giving a policy speech at the convening of a parliamentary session.
Fukuda was chief Cabinet secretary when the government announced in July 2003 that it would study establishing a comprehensive law that would authorize SDF dispatches overseas at any time.
Abe, who said when announcing his resignation that he had become ''an obstacle'' to securing extension of the refueling mission, had aimed to introduce a bill to establish a permanent law in the ordinary Diet session expected to convene next January.
Like his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi, the hawkish prime minister had been eager since taking office last September to expand the global role of the Self-Defense Forces and to step up Japan's support for the United States, its closest ally.
But his plan suffered a major setback after the ruling bloc's devastating defeat in the July House of Councillors election in which it lost a majority in the upper house.
''We can't respond promptly to situations if we have to hastily compile legislation after something happens,'' Fukuda said. ''It is important to have preparations all properly set.''
Japan has a law allowing the deployment of troops to cooperate in U.N. peacekeeping activities. But for other dispatches in situations that do not meet the five strict principles of this law, parliament is required to pass special laws for each occasion.
Current special measures laws, including one enabling the dispatch of maritime troops to a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and another for the deployment of troops to support Iraqi reconstruction, are valid only for a certain length of time and require extensions when they expire.
In particular, the extension of the refueling mission to support U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan is the focal point of the ongoing political wrangling between the ruling and opposition camps. The law expires Nov. 1 and the opposition is determined to block an extension.
Regarding rewriting the pacifist Constitution, which was a main pillar of Abe's political agenda, Fukuda said, ''It might be alright to do so if we could secure the two-thirds majority in parliament'' that is required for constitutional amendments.
''At this moment, we're not in such a situation,'' he said, referring to the opposition bloc's majority in the upper house and expressing a cautious stance on putting the issue on his political schedule. ''I am not sure if we should be talking about something which will not be realized, something which we cannot map out.''
Abe's push for revising the Constitution has stirred up concerns in China and elsewhere in Asia where bitter memories of Japan's wartime aggression still linger. Fukuda, in contrast, is known for trumpeting amiable relations with Japan's Asian neighbors.
As for his new Cabinet, which is expected to be formed on Tuesday after parliament chooses the prime minister, Fukuda reiterated his concerns that new appointees may not have enough time to prepare for responding to questions in parliament, indicating he will let most current ministers remain in their posts.
The current lineup was formed when Abe reshuffled his Cabinet on Aug. 27.==Kyodo
(Kyodo)
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