“In recognition of this, we absolutely need the Bills to protect people’s lives and to prevent war from occurring”, Mr Abe told reporters, in an apparent rebuttal to critics who label the bills as “war legislation”.
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The changes, reflected in new U.S.-Japan defense cooperation guidelines, would also expand the scope for Japan’s military to provide logistics support to friendly countries, relax limits on peace-keeping operations and make it easier to respond to “grey zone” incidents falling short of war. However, Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party controls the legislature and saw the bills passed.
The biggest change under the new bills would allow Japan’s military to defend allies like the US that come under attack, under a concept known as collective self-defense.
The prime minister, a robust nationalist, wants what he calls a normalization of Japan’s military posture, which has been constrained by a constitution imposed by U.S. occupiers after World War II.
The bill, proposed by JapanesePrimeMinisterShinzo Abe, will now head to a vote in the upper house.
That tension was on display Wednesday as opposition lawmakers attempted to thwart the committees vote and hundreds chanted anti-war and anti-Abe slogans outside in protest.
Mr. Abe has presented the package as an unavoidable response to new threats facing Japan, in particular the growing military power of China.
At that point, if two-thirds of attending members in the lower house agree then the bill would be enacted and as it was previously stated: Abe’s ruling bloc already has more than two-thirds majority in the lower house.
Japanese National Security Adviser Shotaro Yachi, left, shakes hands with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State guesthouse in Beijing, Thursday, July 16, 2015.
They say the legislation is needed to take account of the shifting security environment in Asia, where North Korea remains as volatile and unpredictable as ever, and China is increasingly perceived to be throwing its weight around.
“The most challenging task for Abe’s administration regarding the security legislation is how to overcome existing legal, political and other institutional limitations domestically and to overcome the trust deficit arising from historical issues externally”, he said.
And polls show more than half of Japanese citizens oppose the changes in legislation.
Support for Abe, who returned to office in 2012 pledging to bolster Japan’s defences and reboot the economy, has slipped to around 40 percent on voter doubts about the legislation. Japan marks 70 years since the end of the second World War next month.
Reacting to the passing of the bills, China’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman Hua Chunying questioned if Japan was “abandoning its pacifist policies”, and urged Japan to “stick to the path of peaceful development” and avoid harming the region’s stability.
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Opponents say the legislation brings greater risks to Japan and violates the constitution.
