By Sachiko Sakamaki and Takashi Hirokawa
Japan's parliament is considering a bill to authorize the use of outer space for self defense, legislation that would mark a break from a resolution restricting activities outside the earth's atmosphere to peaceful uses.
A lower house committee comprised of ruling and opposition lawmakers approved the bill today. The full lower house may vote on the legislation as early as May 13, Takeo Kawamura, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's chairman for space development, said.
Approval of the bill would signal a departure from how Japan has previously approached space exploration under its pacifist constitution. Japan's parliament passed a resolution limiting its use of outer space to ``peaceful uses'' in 1969.
``The significance of the bill is enormous,'' said Fujio Nakano, author of two books on Japan's space program, including, ``Japan-China Space War.'' The legislation may allow Japan to operate higher-resolution spy satellites for the first time, he said.
Japan's consideration of the space bill follows China's shooting down of a defunct weather satellite with a missile last year. Japan's top government spokesman today downplayed the bill's potential significance.
``We don't see this as a fundamental change in policy,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said during a regular press briefing.
