Japanese Prime Minister Abe said on Monday he wants to discuss a framework that would allow Japan's military to rescue Japanese citizens in danger, following the beheading of a Japanese reporter by Islamic State militants.

Abe, who has long pushed for a more muscular security stance, made the remarks to a parliamentary committee a day after Islamic State militants said they had killed Kenji Goto, the second Japanese captive to be killed.

Abe wants legislation this year to lift a ban on the military fighting overseas to help allies under attack. Known as collective self-defense, the change would be the biggest military policy shift since Japan's armed forces were reassembled 60 years ago after its World War Two defeat.