US supports greater Japan role on world stage

The United States would support Japan playing a bigger role in global security, a US official said Friday, amid intense debate in the Asian nation following the murder of two Japanese hostages by Islamic State jihadists. In a question and answer session on Twitter, deputy US Secretary of State Tony Blinken was asked if he would back Japan altering its pacifist constitution to enable it to act beyond self-defence.
"Decision for Japan but support increased Japanese engagement on world stage, contributions to global security," said Blinken who will visit Japan next week during a swing through Asia. The State Department said Blinken will discuss a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues when he meets Japanese government officials in Tokyo from February 12-14 after earlier stops in South Korea and China. The visit comes as Japan reels from the murder of two of its hostages, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, by the Islamic State group.