Abe allies stymie opposition moves to block security bills

Making last-ditch efforts to block the passage of radical security bills, Japan's opposition lawmakers filed a series of no-confidence and censure motions in the upper house against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the chamber's President Masaaki Yamazaki starting on Thursday.

But seeing that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito party, hold the majority of the seats in the upper house, all of them were rejected.

The security bills, which would enable Japan to embark on military operations that have been unconstitutional in the 70 years since World War II ended - were first approved by an upper house special committee on Thursday.

Deep into Friday night, the plenary of the upper house did not finish the passage of the acts and its term was extended.

An Asahi Shimbun editorial said the legislation to allow Japan to engage in collective self-defense is unconstitutional, pure and simple.

"No matter how dramatic changes in the security environment have been, they don't prove any rationale for the Cabinet to arbitrarily reverse the traditional government interpretation of the Constitution, which has become firmly entrenched as an integral part of the nation's constitutional system over the postwar period," the article said.

On Friday afternoon, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news conference that Beijing has taken notice of the rising voices within Japan against the bills and urges the Japanese government to sincerely listen to the calls from within the country and the international community.

Japan should "take actions with great caution in military and a security matters" and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability, Hong said.

Shigeru Yamaguchi, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court, said that if the Japanese government wants to change the conventional interpretation of Article 9, it must do it fair and square by amending the Constitution to obtain public support.

Yang Bojiang, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Japan Studies, said that as a growing number in the Japanese public have realized what is actually behind the security bills, opposing voices are rising, and that Abe has responded by accelerating the upper house review of the bills.

"It would be easier to get the bills passed now than next year", since political challenges are expected to multiply in 2016, such as local elections and the fading influence of Abe's economic stimulus package, Yang said.

Wu Huaizhong, an expert on Japanese politics and defense policies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that a rising negativity toward China is notable within the Japanese military and defense policies over the past 10 years.

"The preliminary plans to deter China were proposed 10 years ago, but the implementation - initially slow - gathered tremendous speed as Abe led a range of substantial policy campaigns," Wu said.

Contact the writer at caihong@chinadaily.com.cn and zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn