Thousands Protest in Japan Against Use of Army Abroad

The lower house of the Japanese parliament has already passed the legislation which would permit the country’s troops to participate in military action abroad. The constitution currently only allows Tokyo to engage in warfare in cases of self-defense.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Thousands protested outside the Japanese parliament in Tokyo on Sunday against the new law that would allow military deployments abroad, media reported.

国外にも発信！ @cctvnews: Massive rally near Japan’s parliament protests against PM Shinzo Abe’s security policy pic.twitter.com/EDhKWKS2hG

— ひろすけ@電話をかけよう！ (@hryksub) 30 августа 2015

According to the BBC, tens of thousands of people gathered outside of the parliament, demanding resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and protection of the peaceful Japanese constitution.

Japan has seen numerous protests against the new legislation ever since the lower house passed the bill in June.

Under the legislation package, Japan’s government will be able to dispatch its defense forces abroad to assist its allies without the need for parliamentary debate or special laws.

The Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany, along with the Kingdom of Italy, comprised the original Axis alliance during World War II, fighting against Allied forces including the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and others.

After Japan lost WWII, the government amended its constitution so that the military could not be used to solve international disputes. Japan's current armed forces are called self-defense forces and their functions are severely limited.