Japan's upper house committee passes controversial security bills amid chaos

A special committee under the upper house of the Japanese national Diet passed controversial government-backed security-related bills amid chaos in the chamber. The passage came without a final debate on the bills, paving way for the chamber's plenary session to vote the bills. The Japanese ruling camp led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe secured the majority in the upper house, meaning that the controversial bills would be approved in the upcoming plenary at earliest on Thursday. The opposition parties said earlier that if the bills were approved by the committee, they are expected to launch accountability resolution against the prime minister and no- confidence motion against Abe's cabinet in a move to delay the vote. The bills, if enacted, will allow the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to engage in armed conflicts overseas, even if Japan is not under attack, for the first time in 70 years. However, the Japanese war-renouncing Constitution bans the SDF from using forces abroad. In July, the ruling camp also rammed the unpopular legislation through the Diet's lower house, a move that slashed the support rate for the Abe's cabinet by about 10 percentages. The majority of Japanese public showed their opposition against the bills. Constant demonstrations with thousands of protestors were held daily across the country. Latest poll by the Asahi Shimbun, a major daily here, showed that the support rate for the prime minister's cabinet plunged to about 36 percent, the lowest level since Abe returned to the power since late 2012. While disapproval rate for the cabinet stayed at about 42 percent. The poll released on Tuesday also said that 68 percent of the respondents opposed to pass the controversial bills during the current Diet session through Sept. 27. About 54 percent said that they opposed the bills, compared those of 29 percent who showed their support.