Japan PM eyes landmark change in limits on military combat abroad

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a news conference upon the conclusion of his tour to Europe in Brussels May 7, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

TOKYO (Reuters) - Advisers to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Thursday for a landmark change in security policy, urging the government to lift a ban that has kept Japan from fighting abroad since its defeat in World War Two.

Citing an increasingly tough security environment, the private advisers called in a report for a change to a long-standing interpretation of the post-war, pacifist constitution that says Japan has the right to defend itself with the minimum force necessary, but that combat abroad exceeds that limit.