2015 Japanese military legislation

In 2015, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party promoted legislation, passed on 19 September 2015, despite some public opposition, to allow the country's military to participate in foreign conflicts, overturning its previous policy of fighting only in self-defense.

[2] On 1 July, the government announced that it had devised a policy dubbed "collective self defense" to allow it to use armed force to defend its allies.

[3] Abe had originally proposed to give the military even more leeway, but resistance from lawmakers in both parties of the governing coalition led to softening of the language.

[4] On 26 May 2015, the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the National Diet, began debate on a package of eleven bills, granting the military the power to engage in foreign combat in limited circumstances.

[8] In an effort to delay passage until after the Silver Week holiday, Yukio Edano of the Democratic Party of Japan spoke for 104 minutes (having planned to speak for four hours) in support of a no confidence motion against the cabinet, and Tarō Yamamoto of the People's Life Party attempted to delay voting by walking very slowly to the ballot box.

[10] While the legislation is expected to allow Japanese and US forces to work more closely together, such as by forming integrated naval task forces to repel an invasion of Japan, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani denied that Japan would always come to the aid of the US, and Prime Minister Abe specifically ruled out the possibility of extending SDF support for the coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

[16] According to some polls conducted in July, at the time of the legislation's debate in the House of Representatives, two thirds of the Japanese public opposed the bills.

Demonstrators and police buses outside the Japanese National Diet on 18 September 2015 during a debate in the House of Councillors shortly before the Japanese military legislation was passed in the early hours of 19 September.
Demonstrators and police buses outside Japan 's National Diet on Friday 18 September 2015 during the debate in the House of Councillors shortly before the legislation was passed in the early hours of 19 September. A Zengakuren banner is visible in the middle of the image.