Japan's defence forces get greater scope in two planned new bills

Tokyo

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Thursday approved two security-related bills aimed at greatly expanding the scope of overseas operations by the nation's Self Defence Forces (SDF), in and possibly beyond Asia and allowing Japan to defend allies in certain circumstances.

Mr Abe claimed, after his Cabinet gave the green light to the bills allowing the Japanese military to fight overseas for the first time since World War II, that they would bolster deterrence and decrease the risk of war. The measures constitute what the Japanese leader terms Japan's "proactive contribution to peace".