Nov 04 (Japan Times) - The government will drop its plan to reach a conclusion by the end of the year on whether Japan should acquire the capability to strike enemy bases, including missile launch sites, it was learned Tuesday.
With a House of Representatives election due within a year, the Liberal Democratic Party-led government plans to place emphasis on electoral cooperation between the LDP and Komeito, the junior ruling coalition partner, which is cautious about Japan holding the strike capability, government and ruling coalition sources said.
In a statement issued before his resignation in September, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested that the government would outline its policy on the strike capability after talks with the ruling parties.