TOKYO,Japan (Reuters) — Thousands of people protested in front of the Japanese parliament on Tuesday evening (March 29), on the day laws loosening the limits of Japan’s pacifist constitution on its military took effect. Surveys showed the public remained divided over a change that allows Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.
The protesters held placards that read “Protect the constitution” and “Protect the lives of self-defense force personnel.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the security legislation, the biggest change in Japan’s defense policy since the creation of its military in 1954, is vital to meet new challenges including a rising China.
Critics say the changes, which triggered mass demonstrations ahead of their enactment last September, violate the pacifist constitution and increase the risk of involvement in foreign wars. Opposition parties plan to campaign for the laws’ repeal in an upper house election in July.
“I feel strong anger that legislations were passed, bills that would break Japan’s 70 years of dedication to self-defense without attacking first,” a protester, Keiki Makishita, said.
Japanese government Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference earlier in the day that the legislation was “vital to prevent wars and protect the people’s lives and livelihoods amid an increasingly severe security environment surrounding our country.” He added “the government will first preserve the peace through diplomacy and there is no change at all in our policy of proactive diplomacy for that purpose.”
Japan’s ally the United States has welcomed the changes, which allow the military to fight in aid of friendly countries that come under attack if Japan’s security is also threatened.
But China, where bitter memories of Tokyo’s wartime aggression run deep, has repeatedly expressed concern about the legislation, based on a controversial re-interpretation of the pacifist constitution.
The main opposition Democratic Party and other opposition groups are raising the issue ahead of the upper house election amid speculation Abe may also call a snap poll for the powerful lower chamber. How much traction the issue is unclear.
A voter survey by the Yomiuri newspaper published on Tuesday showed 47 percent did not approve of the changes against 38 percent who did. That compared to 58 percent who opposed the legislation last September versus 31 percent who approved.
“I don’t think we should ever forgive the fact that bills that would help the country enter war has come into effect,” another protester, Shiori Uesugi, said.
Dozens of police officers were also patrolling around the parliament to keep the protesters under control, with vans and barriers lined up along the road.
However, in a separate survey by the Nikkei business daily, only 35 percent said the legislation should be repealed, while 43 percent said it should remain in place.