Japan's cabinet OKs military expansion bills amid protests
Iran Press TV
Thu May 14, 2015 4:6PM
Japan's cabinet has endorsed a set of controversial bills that expand the role and scope of its military forces and allow the country's army to fight abroad for the first time since the World War II.
The draft legislation, which needs parliamentary approval, redefines the geographic restrictions of Tokyo's military operations and broadens the remit of the country's well-equipped and well-trained armed forces.
The bills would also allow Japan to defend its allies and further enhance the US-Japan security alliance.
Tokyo's proposal has drawn the criticism of the country's opposition, which describes it as "war legislation."
Earlier on Thursday, hundreds of people rallied outside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office, saying the move would drag Japan into war.
The opponents further insist that the move would stain Japan's almost 70-year efforts to regain international trust and identity as a pacifist nation.
Critics further argue what constitutes the right to use "collective self-defense" in the new bills as well as the idea of deploying troops on overseas "peace missions" is too vague.
Abe has said that Tokyo can no longer shy away from its responsibility to help safeguard regional stability, and must step out from the shade of the security umbrella provided by the United States.
"We live in an era when no country can any longer protect itself alone," Abe said in a televised news conference.
Washington, which imposed the constitution on Japan during its post-World War II occupation, has been urging Tokyo to take on a more active role in their joint security pact.
The cabinet decision came as Japan also hosted its first ever global arms fair, the result of relaxation in rules banning the sale of weapons abroad, as part of a bid to shore up the domestic arms industry.
MFB/MKA/GHN
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