Controversial legislation that could result in Japanese troops fighting abroad for the first time since World War II passed the lower house of Japan’s parliament on Thursday amid large public protests.
The bills have been championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who contends that Japan – which adopted a U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution after its defeat World War II – needs to be able to come to the aid of allies, particularly America, under the doctrine of "collective self-defense."
His push comes as China is expanding its military capabilities and increasingly asserting itself in the South China Sea and East China Sea.