Japan's Foreign Minister says sending Japanese troops to foreign conflict unconstitutional

"Generally speaking, sending armed forces to the territorial land, sea, air or other countries for a purpose of exercising force exceeds the minimum necessarily limit that is needed for self-defense and is not allowed under the constitution," Kamikawa told a regular press conference, when asked whether Tokyo might consider sending armed forces to Ukraine.

At the same time, Japan is strongly committed to supporting Ukraine and working together with the "like-minded" countries, including G7 states, to achieve "just and permanent peace" in Ukraine, the minister said.

Last week, after a Paris-hosted conference on Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and, although no consensus had been reached in this regard, nothing could be ruled out.

Macron also vowed to do everything to stop Russia from winning. At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius responded by saying that Berlin would not send its forces to Ukraine. The chancellor also said that NATO had no such intention either.

Last Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had taken notice of Macron's remarks that France may send troops to Ukraine and was aware of his position of seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Peskov also said some of the countries that participated in the meeting held in Paris on Ukraine had quite a "wise assessment" of the potential dangers of being involved in a conflict with Russia.

On May 3, 1947, the modern post-war constitution of Japan went into effect. In Article 9, often referred to as the "peace article," Japan renounces the use of force as a means of settling international conflicts and commits to not maintain permanent armed forces. The basic law has undergone no amendments since and is known as a "Peace Constitution."

(With UNI/Sputnik inputs)