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| Japan’s Lower House Passes Bills to Give Military Freer Hand to Fight | Japan’s Lower House Passes Bills to Give Military Freer Hand to Fight |
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| TOKYO — The lower house of Japan’s Parliament passed legislation on Thursday that would give the country’s military limited powers to fight in foreign conflicts for the first time since World War II. | |
| The lawmakers acted despite broad public opposition to the legislation, which has set off Japan’s largest demonstrations since the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident four years ago. | |
| Opposition lawmakers walked out of Parliament to protest the package of 11 security-related bills, which was championed by the conservative prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and supported by the United States, Japan’s longtime ally and protector. Demonstrators chanted noisily on Thursday outside Parliament, despite a gathering typhoon. | |
| The bills represent a break from the strictly defensive stance maintained by Japan in the decades since the war, under which it would fight only if directly attacked. Critics, including a majority of Japanese constitutional specialists, say the legislation violates the country’s postwar charter, which renounces war. | The bills represent a break from the strictly defensive stance maintained by Japan in the decades since the war, under which it would fight only if directly attacked. Critics, including a majority of Japanese constitutional specialists, say the legislation violates the country’s postwar charter, which renounces war. |
| Mr. Abe has spent considerable political capital pushing the bills through. Voters oppose them by a ratio of roughly two to one, according to numerous surveys, and the government’s once-high support ratings fell to around 40 percent in several polls taken this month. | Mr. Abe has spent considerable political capital pushing the bills through. Voters oppose them by a ratio of roughly two to one, according to numerous surveys, and the government’s once-high support ratings fell to around 40 percent in several polls taken this month. |
| Mr. Abe has presented the package as an unavoidable response to new threats facing Japan, in particular the growing military power of China. He seized on the murder of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State militant group in January as an example of why Japan needs to loosen restrictions on its military, suggesting that the military might have rescued them had it been free to act. | Mr. Abe has presented the package as an unavoidable response to new threats facing Japan, in particular the growing military power of China. He seized on the murder of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State militant group in January as an example of why Japan needs to loosen restrictions on its military, suggesting that the military might have rescued them had it been free to act. |
| “These laws are absolutely necessary because the security situation surrounding Japan is growing more severe,” he said after the vote on Thursday. | “These laws are absolutely necessary because the security situation surrounding Japan is growing more severe,” he said after the vote on Thursday. |
| China condemned passage of the bills, describing them as a potential threat to peace in Asia and invoking the memory of Japan’s wartime aggression. | China condemned passage of the bills, describing them as a potential threat to peace in Asia and invoking the memory of Japan’s wartime aggression. |
| “We solemnly urge the Japanese side to draw hard lessons from history, stick to the path of peaceful development, respect the major security concerns of its Asian neighbors, and refrain from jeopardizing China’s sovereignty and security interests or crippling regional peace and stability,” Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in a statement. | “We solemnly urge the Japanese side to draw hard lessons from history, stick to the path of peaceful development, respect the major security concerns of its Asian neighbors, and refrain from jeopardizing China’s sovereignty and security interests or crippling regional peace and stability,” Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in a statement. |
| With opposition lawmakers boycotting the vote, the bills passed with the support of the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Mr. Abe, and its smaller coalition partner, Komeito, which control a majority of seats in the legislature’s lower house, the House of Representatives. To become law, they must still be approved by the upper chamber, which the coalition also controls. Even in the unlikely event that the package is rejected in the upper house, the lower house can override that decision. | With opposition lawmakers boycotting the vote, the bills passed with the support of the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Mr. Abe, and its smaller coalition partner, Komeito, which control a majority of seats in the legislature’s lower house, the House of Representatives. To become law, they must still be approved by the upper chamber, which the coalition also controls. Even in the unlikely event that the package is rejected in the upper house, the lower house can override that decision. |
| The upper house is scheduled to debate the legislation for 60 days, keeping the issue in the public eye and potentially fueling more protests. “There is plenty of time for this newfound appetite for opposition to the Abe government to grow,” Sheila A. Smith, senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said in an online post. | The upper house is scheduled to debate the legislation for 60 days, keeping the issue in the public eye and potentially fueling more protests. “There is plenty of time for this newfound appetite for opposition to the Abe government to grow,” Sheila A. Smith, senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said in an online post. |
| In an address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress in April, Mr. Abe pledged that he would enact the legislation to strengthen Japan’s already close ties to the United States. But “a deeply divided Japanese public over alliance cooperation is not the outcome U.S. policy makers hoped for,” Ms. Smith wrote. | In an address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress in April, Mr. Abe pledged that he would enact the legislation to strengthen Japan’s already close ties to the United States. But “a deeply divided Japanese public over alliance cooperation is not the outcome U.S. policy makers hoped for,” Ms. Smith wrote. |
| The legislation would allow the Japanese military, known as the Self-Defense Forces, to cooperate more closely with United States forces, by providing logistical support and, in certain circumstances, armed backup in international conflicts. It complements guidelines in a bilateral agreement governing how Japanese and United States forces work together, which was signed by the two nations this year. | The legislation would allow the Japanese military, known as the Self-Defense Forces, to cooperate more closely with United States forces, by providing logistical support and, in certain circumstances, armed backup in international conflicts. It complements guidelines in a bilateral agreement governing how Japanese and United States forces work together, which was signed by the two nations this year. |
| Mr. Abe has failed to dispel concerns of the Japanese public that looser restrictions on the military could embroil Japan in damaging and unnecessary wars. The United States-led war in Iraq is often cited by critics as a cautionary example, although Mr. Abe and his supporters say the many caveats contained in the bills would prevent Japan from fighting in such a conflict. | Mr. Abe has failed to dispel concerns of the Japanese public that looser restrictions on the military could embroil Japan in damaging and unnecessary wars. The United States-led war in Iraq is often cited by critics as a cautionary example, although Mr. Abe and his supporters say the many caveats contained in the bills would prevent Japan from fighting in such a conflict. |
| Under the legislation, Japan could fight to defend allies, but only when not doing so would threaten “the lives and survival of the Japanese nation.” Mr. Abe’s opponents counter that the criteria are vague. | |
| If it clears the remaining procedural hurdles, the legislation is likely to face challenges in the courts, but to what effect is uncertain. The Constitution, written by Japan’s American occupiers after the war, states that “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.” In multiple surveys of constitutional scholars, more than 90 percent have said the legislation violates the charter. | If it clears the remaining procedural hurdles, the legislation is likely to face challenges in the courts, but to what effect is uncertain. The Constitution, written by Japan’s American occupiers after the war, states that “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.” In multiple surveys of constitutional scholars, more than 90 percent have said the legislation violates the charter. |
| Japanese judges, however, have in the past been mostly unwilling to overrule the government on matters of national security. | Japanese judges, however, have in the past been mostly unwilling to overrule the government on matters of national security. |
| “It is a huge mistake to set aside a constitutional interpretation built up by governments for 70 years without sufficient public understanding and debate,” Katsuya Okada, head of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, said before the opposition walkout. | “It is a huge mistake to set aside a constitutional interpretation built up by governments for 70 years without sufficient public understanding and debate,” Katsuya Okada, head of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, said before the opposition walkout. |
| Mr. Abe has long argued that the Constitution should be amended to remove its restrictive antiwar provisions, but changing the charter would require a national referendum that he would probably lose. For now, at least, a contested reinterpretation of the Constitution appears to be the most he can hope for. | Mr. Abe has long argued that the Constitution should be amended to remove its restrictive antiwar provisions, but changing the charter would require a national referendum that he would probably lose. For now, at least, a contested reinterpretation of the Constitution appears to be the most he can hope for. |
| On Wednesday night, large crowds gathered outside Parliament after the bills were approved by a committee in an emotional and chaotic session. Opposition lawmakers held up signs saying “No to Abe politics” and tore notes from the committee chairman’s hand as he closed debate. | On Wednesday night, large crowds gathered outside Parliament after the bills were approved by a committee in an emotional and chaotic session. Opposition lawmakers held up signs saying “No to Abe politics” and tore notes from the committee chairman’s hand as he closed debate. |
| The crowd on Wednesday was estimated by protest organizers around 100,000, which would make it the largest antigovernment demonstration in Japan since protests in 2012 against the proposed restart of nuclear power plants, a year after the nuclear accident in Fukushima. The police had no official estimate of the crowd’s size. | The crowd on Wednesday was estimated by protest organizers around 100,000, which would make it the largest antigovernment demonstration in Japan since protests in 2012 against the proposed restart of nuclear power plants, a year after the nuclear accident in Fukushima. The police had no official estimate of the crowd’s size. |
| A small number of protesters remained on Thursday under intermittent downpours from Typhoon Nangka, a huge storm bearing down on the western part of the country. They shouted “Shame on the Abe government” and “Don’t send young people to war.” | A small number of protesters remained on Thursday under intermittent downpours from Typhoon Nangka, a huge storm bearing down on the western part of the country. They shouted “Shame on the Abe government” and “Don’t send young people to war.” |