Stars and Stripes:
TOKYO — Japan will legally be able to use planned Aegis Ashore systems to intercept North Korean missiles launched toward Guam, a top government official said this week.
A pacifist constitution bans Japan from stepping in to defend other nations unless it was also being attacked; however, security legislation passed in 2015 allows the country to exercise its right to collective defense and to defend close allies when attacked — under certain conditions.
Those include: when an armed attack against Japan or a close ally “threatens Japan’s survival and poses a clear danger to fundamentally overturn people’s right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness; when there are no other ways to repel an attack; and if it limits the use of force to the minimum extent required.
