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Japanese MP Claims Decision to Legalize War Unpopular Among Voters

© AFP 2023 / YOSHIKAZU TSUNODemonstrators hold placards to protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's controversial security bills in front of the National Diet in Tokyo on September 18, 2015
Demonstrators hold placards to protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's controversial security bills in front of the National Diet in Tokyo on September 18, 2015 - Sputnik International
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The Japanese parliament's adoption of new laws on the country's Self-Defense Force stem from their failure to respect the views of the nation, according to Takako Suzuki of the opposition Social Democratic Party.

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In an interview with Sputnik, Japanese Social Democratic Party parliamentarian Takako Suzuki said that the parliament's approval of the laws on the country's Self-Defense Force stems from its refusal to consider popular opinion.

Her comments came amid reports that more than half of the Japanese population opposes the adoption of the laws to extend the powers of the country's self-defense forces, according to opinion polls.

"The adoption of the bill by both Houses of Parliament is the consequence of them ignoring the views of both parliamentarians and the nation," Suzuki said.

She referred to the polls which revealed that at least 80 percent of respondents are unsatisfied with the government's explanations on the bill.

"Even 60 percent of all those in the parliament have shown their negative attitude to the bill, and there was no urgent need to adopt this document," she added.

Last week, members of a panel in Japan's upper house approved a package of national security bills allowing Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party pushed for the vote alongside its coalition partner, Komeito, despite opposition lawmakers' efforts to stall the vote for over 15 hours. The legislation had previously been approved by the lower chamber, the House of Representatives.

The new laws abolish Article 9 of the Japanese constitution, in which the country renounces the use of force in settling international disputes, and would allow the Self-Defense Force to be sent overseas in an offensive military capacity for the first time since World War II.

Due to the adoption of the laws, Abe's approval rating has already dropped to a record low and currently stands at 38.9 percent.

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