Departure from pacifism: Japan enacts bills easing limits on its military

Abe says new policy needed to meet fresh threats; law sparks huge protests

TOKYO: Japan's parliament voted into law on Friday a defence policy shift that could let troops fight overseas for the first time since 1945, a milestone in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to loosen the limits of the pacifist constitution on the military.

Abe says the shift, the biggest change in Japan's defence policy since the creation of its post-war military in 1954, is vital to meet new challenges such as from a rising China.



But the legislation has triggered massive protests from ordinary citizens and others who say it violates the pacifist constitution.

The legislation "is necessary to protect the people's lives and peaceful way of living and is for the purpose of preventing wars," Abe told reporters after the bills were approved by the upper house.

Japan's ally the United States has welcomed the changes but China has repeatedly expressed concern about the legislation.

"Recently we have noticed that voices in Japan opposing the bill have become louder by the day," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular news briefing on Friday.

"We demand that Japan earnestly listen to these just voices domestically and internationally, learn the lessons of history, uphold the path of peaceful development, speak and act cautiously in security and military matters and take actual steps to maintain regional peace and stability," Hong added.

The bills were voted into law by the upper chamber despite opposition parties' efforts to block a vote by submitting censure motions and a no-confidence motion against Abe's cabinet in the lower house. All were defeated. A key feature of the laws is an end to a long-standing ban on exercising the right of collective self-defence, or defending the United States or another friendly country that comes under attack, in cases where Japan faces a ‘threat to its survival’.

The revisions also expand the scope for logistics support for the militaries of the US and other countries, and for participation in peace keeping. The changes still leave Japan constrained in overseas military operations by legal limits and a deeply rooted public anti-war mindset.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th,  2015.