A bill opening the way for Japanese troops to go abroad as peacekeepers cleared a crucial parliamentary hurdle Tuesday after bitter debate and a long filibuster. It now looks certain to become law this month.
Left-wing opposition parties, and many people in Asian countries conquered by Imperial Japanese armies earlier this century, fear the measure is a first step toward Japan's remilitarization.The government of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa denies it is any such thing, arguing that committing troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations is the best way for Japan to show it is ready to take on wider international duties.
Political analysts were unanimous in predicting that the Peacekeeping Operations Bill would now be enacted before the present Diet session ends June 21.
The Socialists and Communists, who had delayed the bill's upper house passage for three days with a series of no-confidence motions and "ox-walk" filibusters, vowed to do it all over again in the Lower House.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has a majority in that chamber, however, and is determined not to allow the measure to be killed.