Abe extends military under US' wing

While Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera is in Washington this week to brief, please and consult his hosts, he will undoubtedly give top billing to the Japanese government's decision on July 1 to lift the decades-long ban on collective self-defense, which, according to the Japanese foreign ministry, is for "seamless" security cooperation between Japan and the United States.

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has already given the US' ally a pat on the back, saying "the new policy will enable the Japanese self-defense forces to engage in a wider range of operations and make the US-Japan alliance even more efficient".

Onodera is also expected to discuss with his US counterpart the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation, which the two countries plan to revise by the end of this year. The changes, the first in 17 years, will redefine the role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and how they cooperate with the US military.