PERTURBADOR: EUA atiça Japão contra China. Tóquio destrói paz de 70 anos: já pode iniciar guerra.
The lower house of Japan's parliament has approved two controversial bills that change the country's security laws, despite protests in Tokyo. The changes would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two. The bills still need approval from the upper house, but many expect them to eventually be passed into law. The changes are unpopular and thousands demonstrated outside parliament on Wednesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for the two bills, arguing it is necessary to expand the role of the military in a doctrine called collective self-defence.
But polls show more than half of Japanese citizens oppose them. Reacting to the passing of the bills, China's foreign affairs ministry spokesman Hua Chunying questioned if Japan was "abandoning its pacifist policies", and urged Japan to "stick to the path of peaceful development" and avoid harming the region's stability. South Korea has similarly in the past urged Japan to "contribute to regional peace and security" and called for transparency in Japan's defence policy discussions.
