The Japanese government Sunday was reviewing the guidelines for defense cooperation with the United States, Kyodo News reported.
Government sources said the rules were being examined in order to address new security challenges such as terrorism, the threat of weapons of mass destruction, and military developments in North Korea and China.
Tokyo and Washington have been hoping to hold a summit by this fall to produce a joint statement on security or a similar document of agreement before officially updating the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, the sources said.
The update will be the first since 1997 when the current defense guidelines were issued.
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