Japan drops military limitations

The Japanese government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a reinterpretation of its post-war laws, which had barred the military from aiding allies in armed conflicts, also known as the right to exercise "collective self-defense."

"There is a misunderstanding that Japan will be involved in war in an effort to defend a foreign country, but this is out of the question," Prime Minister Abe told reporters on Tuesday.

"It will be strictly a defense measure to defend our people. We will not resort to the use of force in order to defend foreign forces," Abe added.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera also explained to reporters that the Cabinet decision relaxed current restraints, meaning that it could also be active in United Nations-led peacekeeping operations, among other things.

Roughly 2,000 people demonstrated outside of Abe's office on Tuesday, saying that such a decision required a public referendum, according to the Associated Press news agency.

China criticizes resolution

The country's militaristic past continues to trouble neighboring countries China and South Korea, who were victim to Japanese brutality during the Second World War.

In reaction to the Tuesday announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei questioned Japan's "peaceful development."

"Beijing opposes Japan's act of hyping the China threat," he said, referring to a recent territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

Prime Minister Abe has already faced criticism over paying respects to the country's 2.5 million war dead at the Yasukuni shrine late last year. While he contended that the visit was an act of renewing a commitment to peace, foreign critics were upset by the symbolism of the visit.

kms/se (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)