Japan will boost artificial-intelligence capabilities to guide unmanned military equipment as the nation's Self-Defense Forces cope with manpower shortages, according to an outline of policy guidelines to be finalized next month.

The draft, revealed at separate meetings of defense experts and the ruling party task force, calls for directing resources to space and cyber defenses as well as electronic warfare. Citing growing threats in those areas and China's maritime advances, the document stresses the need for updating Japan's defense capabilities "at a speed not seen before."

The government plans to incorporate expert input and endorse a final document in mid-December that will dictate basic defense policy over the following decade or so. 

To cope with the lack of man power, the outline raises the retirement age for Defense Force personnel and proposes utilizing reserve officers who will be mobilized in the event of a major disaster or military contingency. By bolstering AI capabilities, Japan will also promote the use of unmanned or minimally manned equipment.

The outline also touches on the need to improve missile defenses as well as so-called standoff firepower, or the ability to strike enemy targets from afar.

The document did not touch on the capacity to preemptively strike enemy bases. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been pressing the government to consider acquiring counter-strike capabilities as a deterrent, geared toward preventing successive assaults in the event of a missile attack.

"There has been no change in the thinking that we will rely on the U.S. to strike enemy bases according to the distribution of duties in the U.S.-Japan defense relationship," Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters after a cabinet meeting Tuesday.