The Japanese government will head a step closer to effectively revising its constitutional interpretation that bans the exercise of the right to collective self-defense by setting up an expert panel by the end of this month to study the issue, government sources said Thursday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki insisted that no decision has been made on creating the panel but stressed the importance of conducting such a study to straighten out legal technicalities in light of defending the country amid changes in its security situation following North Korea's missile launches and nuclear test last year, Kyodo news agency reported. The government has been saying Japan inherently has the right to collective self-defense, or the right to use its forces when an ally comes under attack, under international law but is prohibited from exercising it under its pacifist Constitution.
