Japan is considering discussing revisions of its bilateral defense cooperation guidelines with the United States during their planned summit next month, government sources said Thursday.
The move would come weeks after Tokyo amends its key security documents amid growing security concerns in the region, where China, Russia and North Korea have been trying to bolster their military capabilities.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes to talk with U.S. President Joe Biden about the first revision of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation since 2015 at their envisioned meeting in January in Washington, the sources said.
The revision would enable the two security allies to collectively operate Japan's enemy base strike capability in case it was attacked, they added.
The capability to fire upon and disable enemy missiles before they are launched from foreign territory, called "counterstrike capability," will likely be stipulated in the government's three key defense-related papers to be updated on Friday.
The documents include the National Security Strategy -- Japan's long-term policy guidelines.
Japan's acquisition of counterstrike capabilities could modify the longstanding role-sharing under the bilateral alliance, in which the United States has served as an offensive "spear" and Japan as a "shield" to fend off attacks.
After the talks, Kishida and Biden are expected to instruct their foreign and defense ministers to begin specific work toward reviewing the bilateral guidelines, such as drawing up joint operation plans to monitor opponents' moves and gather information, the sources said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada are set to hold a "two-plus-two" security meeting with their U.S. counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin in mid-January, the sources said.
Kishida is also certain to talk with Biden about Japan's efforts to beef up its defense capability, such as a plan to nearly double Japan's defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product -- a level on par with North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states -- over the next five years, according to the sources.
