Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) would cut heavy equipment and enlist more ground troops in the future in a bid to cope with growing terrorist threat, a leading Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday. 

In the envisioned new National Defense Program Outline, the government plans to curtail 30 percent tanks and artillery, while boosting the number of regular Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) personnel by more than 5,000, said the Yomiuri Shimbun, quoting a government source.

The move signals the Japanese government is shifting its defense emphasis to measures to deal with new kinds of threats, such as ballistic missiles and international terrorism, the source said.

The GSDF currently has about 900 tanks and the same number of artillery pieces. The government intends to boost GSDF's total personnel to 162,000 to better cope with terrorism of guerrilla attacks. The GSDF now has 145,000 regular personnel and 15,000 reserves, according to the paper.

Japan last month decided to spend billions of US dollars to introduce the missile defense system from the United States.

First formulated in 1976, the National Defense Program Outline stipulates the composition of the Japan's defense capabilities. It was revised in 1995 after the end of the Cold War.

The upcoming revision, expected to be ready by the end of this year, also aims to have the SDF involved in more international operations by putting the item as "primary duties", the daily said.

Japan's constitution bans the nation to possess armed forces and denies the right of belligerency.

The SDF first stepped abroad following the 1991 Gulf War, sending minesweepers to that region in assistance of US-led troops. It dispatched an advance unit to Iraq last month for reconstruction and is posited to send more before March. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2004)