TOKYO \u2014 There were chaotic scenes inside Japan’s normally orderly parliament Wednesday as opposition lawmakers thronged a committee room in an unsuccessful bid to block Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s controversial security bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of politicians held signs protesting against what they said was the “forced” passage of legislation that will bolster the role of Japan’s military, in a way they say is anathema to the country’s pacifist constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The floor of the committee room filled moments after chairman Yasukazu Hamada, a member of Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), called a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers chanted “nay, nay, nay” and held posters saying “No to Abe politics”, and “No to a forced decision”, as their LDP colleagues pressed on with the vote, which they won comfortably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This will drastically change our defence policies. It’s also likely they are unconstitutional,” said Katsuya Okada, head of main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I strongly protest that these bills were forced through the committee,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bills, which are expected to go to a vote of the powerful — and LDP-dominated — lower chamber on Thursday, are something of a pet project for Abe, despite widespread public disquiet over what many Japanese say is an affront to 70 years of pacifism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of people protested outside parliament Wednesday, with numbers expected to swell throughout the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, around 20,000 people rallied against the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abe, a robust nationalist, has pushed for what he calls a normalisation of Japan’s military posture. He has sought to loosen restrictions that have bound the so-called Self-Defense Forces to a narrowly defensive role for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But unable to muster the public support to amend the pacifist constitution imposed by the United States after World War II, Abe opted instead to re-interpret it for the purpose of his bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political Cost<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief among the changes that the legislation will enable is the option for the military to go into battle to protect allies — so called “collective defence” — even if there is no direct threat to Japan or its people, something successive governments have ruled out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If, as expected, the lower chamber passes the bills on Thursday, they will go to the upper house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abe has been forced to extend the parliamentary session months beyond its normal finish in a bid to get the legislation through both chambers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there are growing signs that his determination to push the unpopular bills is exacting a political cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abe’s support rate has fallen to 39 percent, lower than the 42 percent disapproval rating, according to the latest poll by the leading Asahi newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shift in military policy is supported by just 26 percent of those polled, while 56 percent expressed opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there is little chance of Abe stepping down, the premier’s declining popularity echoes that of his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi, whose support for a security treaty with the US helped bring about his resignation as prime minister in 1960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Unfortunately, the Japanese people still don’t have a substantial understanding” of the bills, the prime minister told the panel on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I will work harder so public understanding would deepen further.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japanese politics abounds with the notion that those who disagree with a position do not understand it properly, and must have it explained to them more carefully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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