Shift Urged on Sending Japan’s Troops Abroad : Policy: The report by a ruling party panel is a significant new element in the debate on contributing to peacekeeping efforts.

In a provocative call to expand the nation’s military role, a special panel of the ruling party has proposed reinterpreting Japan’s strict no-war constitution to allow the use of military forces overseas for U.N. peacekeeping activities.

Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and other government leaders appeared to reject the idea Friday, saying there should be no change in constitutional interpretation.

But the report by a special panel of the Liberal Democratic Party represents a significant new element in the debate over how Japan should move beyond its role as world financier and contribute more substantially to global peacekeeping efforts.

It is the first time any influential group has proposed recasting Article 9, the constitutional section that long has been interpreted as a ban on the use of military forces to settle international disputes.

The panel, chaired by Ichiro Ozawa, a political heavyweight and former LDP secretary general, was formed last June after international criticism of Japan’s contributions to allied efforts in the Persian Gulf War. Failure last year to pass legislation allowing the sending of peacekeeping troops overseas solidified the image of Japan as willing to provide only money, not men, to maintain global security.

But the Ozawa draft report urged Japan to abandon its “one-country pacifism,” the idea that Japan has enjoyed the benefits of the post-World War II era without adequate sacrifices.

The report called on Japan to help create a new world order by following a course of “active pacifism,” strengthening its security role and eventually joining U.N. forces.

“Now that we have become one of the very few economic powerhouses, it would fly in the face of the world’s common sense if we did not play a military role for the maintenance and restoration of global peace,” the draft report said.

It said Japan’s traditional stance is outdated; it rejected as “unrealistic” the idea that Japan’s peaceful contributions must be limited to non-military measures.

In the section that drew the most criticism, the report cited the preamble of Japan’s constitution to justify what would amount to overturning Article 9.

The preamble states the Japanese “desire to occupy an honored place in an international society striving for the preservation of peace” and declares that “no nation is responsible to itself alone.” The report said that use of Japanese troops to restore and maintain global peace would not violate Article 9.

But that interpretation was attacked Friday by opposition leaders and others. Sadao Yamahana, secretary general of the Social Democratic Party, called the recommendations “dangerous” and said the panel had failed to understand Japan’s wartime record.

In an editorial entitled, “Don’t Rush to Become a Big Power,” the Asahi Shimbun expressed “apprehension” about the report. The newspaper suggested that a revitalized military role would destabilize more than maintain global peace.

Meanwhile, in questioning at a House budget committee meeting Friday, Prime Minister Miyazawa told Social Democratic Party member Minoru Mizuta that the government will continue to interpret Article 9 as barring the dispatch of troops overseas. But Miyazawa added that he wants to hear about the proposals in more detail after a final report is submitted to him later this year.

Sohei Miyashita, director-general of the Japan Defense Agency, also indicated his disapproval of the draft, saying Friday that Japan should not change its position on Article 9. A high-ranking Foreign Ministry official also rejected the recommendations as constitutionally illegal.

Still, Ozawa, the panel’s chairman, represents powerful political interests. He is a protege of Shin Kanemaru, chairman of the LDP’s most powerful faction, which is headed by former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. Kanemaru is also the LDP vice president, having accepted the post recently after Miyazawa implored him to help shore up his political support.