TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pledge to the US to increase Japan's military contribution internationally is facing more questions about potential conflicts with the nation's pacifist Constitution. Opposition lawmakers demanded answers from key Cabinet members at a hearing Wednesday, after three prominent constitution experts — including one chosen by Abe's ruling party — unanimously told a parliamentary committee last week that legislation allowing Japanese troops to defend foreign militaries would violate the war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan's postwar constitution. The development energized the opposition, adding to unease within the ruling party as public opinion polls show both opposition to Abe's security legislation and confusion about why it's needed. It also raises questions about how far Japan can expand its military activities under its constitution, and whether it should be revised. Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komei party still hope to pass the legislation by the end of the summer as Abe has promised to Washington, but they acknowledged that extending the current lawmaking session beyond June 24 is imminent. “Obviously you drafted the legislation by manipulating the constitution to achieve your goals,” Kiyomi Tsujimoto, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, told the lower house committee. She and other opponents demand the legislation be withdrawn, alleging Abe's Cabinet stretched the interpretation of Article 9 too far to allow Japan's military's role beyond its constitutional limits. The Cabinet reinterpreted the constitution last year to allow Japan to defend American troops or allies, outside Japan and its vicinity, a major change to its current policy. Defense Secretary Gen Nakatani defended the legislation as constitutional but said the security environment surrounding Japan has changed and its self-defense-only principle is insufficient. — AP
