Japan to Add Imperial Palace, PM's Office to Protected Facilities

Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government is expected to add the Imperial Palace and the prime minister's office to its list of facilities that require special protection for national security reasons, it was learned Friday.

The government is also considering introducing a permit system for land acquisitions near such facilities, according to a draft of a bill to be submitted to an extraordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament, to be convened Monday.

The list mainly covers facilities of the Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard under the current critical land survey law. The government aims to strengthen regulations governing such land, in response to the growing use of drones in warfare around the world.

On Friday, a government panel of experts submitted a proposal on the issue to Kimi Onoda, minister in charge of policies related to foreign nationals.

"We will accelerate our work to submit the bill to revise the law to the Diet as soon as possible," Onoda said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]