Japan has called for the right to carry out pre-emptive strikes for the first time since World War Two in the wake of North Korean aggression.

Politicians in Japan have argued for the technically pacifist country to have the ability to strike North Korea rather than relying on the US for its defence.

The reclusive state has conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches in defiance of U.N. resolutions.

Discussions surrounding the law change to allow Tokyo to launch pre-emptive strikes against North Korea were supported by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured with Donald Trump)

Hiroshi Imazu, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's security committee, told the Washington Post: 'Japan can't just wait until it's destroyed.

'It's legally possible for Japan to strike an enemy base that's launching a missile at us, but we don't have the equipment or the capability.'

He added: 'Our country is protected by other countries, but we can't do anything to protect them. This is not acceptable in the international community anymore.'

Gen Nakatani, defense minister until last year and a member of the committee, told the newspaper: 'I believe that we should consider having the capacity to strike.'

Last week Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared to give weight to the idea, saying he wanted to 'keep an eye' on developments.

Abe oversaw the acquisition of F-35A stealth fighter jets last year, boosting the country's air defense.

Calls for a stronger Japanese military have grown in the wake of North Korean aggression

Japan's existing missile defense system could reportedly handle only three projectiles at once, according to Reuters.

Japan's pacifist history Japan's pacifist constitution has been in place since the country's surrender at then end of World War II. It was constructed by the Allied powers, principally the United States. Article 9, introduced under the occupying forces after the war, states: "The Japanese people forever renounce war and the threat or use of force." However, under Abe, Japan in 2015 passed a new law that allows its Self-Defense Forces go into battle to protect allies in so-called collective self-defence. Critics argue that this could drag Japan into distant foreign wars even if there was no direct threat to the country or its people, with some even saying the rules violate the pacifist constitution. Abe and his supporters have argued the rules were necessary to deal with a changing security environment marked by an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea. Advertisement

The country has reportedly planned a $1 billion improvement to its PAC-3 Patriot surface-to-air defenses.

But any change could come about following discussions with the US and with the support of a currently reluctant public.

Nakatani added: 'Japan doesn't have the capacity to launch an attack on North Korea by ourselves.

'In order for Japan to do that, it would take a lot of discussion with the U.S.'

Earlier this month, North Korea fired ballistic missiles that landed in the sea less than 200 miles off the northwestern coast of Japan.

The incident was one of the numerous military tests conducted by the despotic state, which has expanded its ballistic and nuclear missile capability in the wake of what it views as US and South Korean aggression.

Pyongyang insists that it needs nuclear weapons for self-defence against 'hostile enemies'.

South Korean and U.S. troops began the large-scale joint drills on March 1 that the North calls an invasion rehearsal.