Apr 22 04:40 AM US/EasternTOKYO, April 22 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Talks on amending an antipiracy bill between the ruling parliamentary bloc and the main opposition party broke down Wednesday, leading the governing coalition to plan its passage through a House of Representatives panel on Thursday.
After the deliberations in which Prime Minister Taro Aso will take part, the lower house's special committee on antipiracy operations will vote on the government-sponsored bill without an amendment, ruling bloc lawmakers said.
The bill is expected to clear the chamber by the end of the week.
"We are not thinking about blocking the bill's enactment," a senior Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker in the House of Councillors said, suggesting that the main opposition party would agree to a vote in the opposition-controlled upper house after a period of deliberations.
The DPJ's likely stance raises the possibility that the legislation will be enacted into law by the end of the current parliamentary session through June 3 after the lower house passes it a second time.
Ranking panel members of the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito coalition bloc and the DPJ had held meetings on the matter since Tuesday in hopes of striking a deal on the matter.
At issue was whether the ruling coalition would agree to add a Diet approval provision to the government-sponsored bill so the Self- Defense Forces can be sent abroad on an antipiracy mission only if the Diet gives its approval before their dispatch.
The LDP proposed a compromise plan to the DPJ during the meetings between their ranking panel members, but the DPJ rejected it, according to participants in the meetings. The LDP did not agree to amend the bill in line with the DPJ's proposal, either, they said.
Smaller opposition parties -- the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- oppose both the government-sponsored bill and the DPJ-proposed amendment.
Japan has sent two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on an antipiracy mission on the basis of the maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces Law.
The provision allows the SDF to escort only Japanese-linked ships, such as Japanese-registered ships and foreign-flagged vessels operated by Japanese firms, and to use weapons only against pirates in limited circumstances, including in self-defense.
Once the legislation is enacted, the government plans to switch the legal basis for the antipiracy mission to it so that the destroyers would be able to protect any ship, regardless of its Japanese connections.
The legislation would also authorize the SDF to open fire on pirate boats that despite repeated warnings approach commercial ships -- the provision that concerns some opposition lawmakers who worry about its potential conflict with the country's Constitution, which limits the use of force abroad.
Some opposition lawmakers say legalizing the use of weapons in such a manner could pave the way for wider and more liberal use of weapons by the SDF when it is dispatched abroad on different missions. [italics mine]
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