Japan passes controversial security bills into law

The law ends the ban on collective self defence i.e. defending a friendly country if it comes under attack. Japan and South Korea both claim an island grouping called Dokdo by Koreans and Takeshima by Japanese. It should be noted that the lower parliamentary chamber passed the bills in July.

The legislation, which for the first time since World War II will enable Japanese troops to fight overseas, was passed at a House of Councillors plenary session with a vote of 148 to 90 after attempts by the opposition camp over two days to delay the final vote.

“There are still unresolved questions in the bills and to enact such questionable bills is intolerable”, said the lawmaker, adding that the ruling camp showed its arrogance on the issue by disregarding political heavyweights’ opinions.

“We can counter this by developing a more powerful military to withstand Japan’s provocation”, said the Global Times editorial. They worry that deepening U.S.-Japan security ties will make Japan a more likely target of anti-U.S. extremists, and increase the risk of becoming embroiled in a U.S.-led conflict.

A majority of those polled voiced disapproval of what they said was the way the government bulldozed the legislation through Diet and complained that Abe had not offered persuasive and detailed arguments to justify the move.

The ruling camp will continue to explain the laws to the Japanese public, Abe said. The legislation also sparked rallies within Japan, with tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding Abe resign and scrap the war bills.

Today’s Japanese people enjoy a decent life thanks to their resilience and hard work, but they should never forget Japan’s swift rise as a technology and economic power was largely due to the fact that it had abandoned the militarist mentality and embraced peace with less military costs.

“He talked a great deal about gaining the public understanding of the new bills but has acknowledged that this has not happened”, Kingston said.

Opponents of the security legislation held demonstrations on a daily basis.

One opposition lawmaker, Taro Yamamoto, used a snail-paced “cow walk” to shuffle to the podium to vote, while others made drawn-out speeches, a variation that has become known as the “cow tongue”.

“We welcome the passage of legislation on national security by Japan’s National Diet”, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a radio interview on Saturday.

According to the poll conducted by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency on Saturday and Sunday, the support rate for Abe Cabinet was down 4.3 percent from 43.2 percent in the previous survey in mid-August.