安倍首相、ミサイル防衛で談話検討　退陣前に方向性

　安倍晋三首相が１６日の退陣前に談話を発表し、弾道ミサイル防衛に関する新たな見解を打ち出す方向で検討していることが分かった。複数の政府関係者が５日、明らかにした。自民党が他国領域内への攻撃能力保有を主張しているのに対し、公明党内には慎重論が根強く、談話がどこまで踏み込んだ内容になるかが焦点だ。
　首相は８月２８日、持病の悪化を理由に辞任する意向を表明。その際の記者会見でミサイル防衛の新たな方針について「速やかに与党調整に入り、具体化を進める」と述べていた。
　関係者によると、首相は新たな安全保障戦略について、年内に結論を出すことに強い意欲を示している。自民党が主張する事実上の敵基地攻撃能力保有を認めるかどうかは次期政権に判断を委ねるものの、退陣前に一定の方向性を示すことで結論の棚上げを阻止する狙いとみられる。（2020/09/05-19:18）

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to issue a statement before his Sept. 16 resignation to make clear his new position on ballistic missile defense, government sources said Saturday.
   The focus is on whether the outgoing prime minister can publish an in-depth statement at a time when the ruling camp is divided over missile defense. The Liberal Democratic Party wants Japan to possess the capability to attack targets in other countries' territories, while its junior coalition partner, Komeito, takes a persistently cautious stance.
   When he announced his resignation at a press conference on Aug. 28 citing his chronic disease, Abe said the ruling camp will start discussions quickly on Japan's new missile defense policy to make it more concrete.
   Abe is very eager to draw a conclusion on a new national security strategy by the end of this year, according to the sources familiar with the matter.
   A decision on whether Japan should effectively have the capability to attack enemy bases will be left to the next administration, but Abe is apparently hoping to prevent the issue from being shelved by announcing the statement before he steps down.