Japan's appeals at home should be heeded for a better future

On Thursday, Shigeru Yamaguchi, a former chief justice of Japan's Supreme Court, criticized the new security bills being pushed through the Diet by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, calling the legislation to exercise the right to rule collective self-defense "unconstitutional". He also expressed his concern about the Abe administration's reinterpretation of Japan's pacifist Constitution, which he said would "undermine constitutionalism and make it impossible to control the use of power or protect citizens from arbitrary politics." Comments:

For historical reasons, Japan has been watched closely by its Asian neighbors and the international community, whenever it seeks to alter its military defense policy. We hope that the Japanese government will listen carefully to the righteous appeals at home, heed the lessons from its infamous past, and adhere to the path of pacifist development. In particular, it should adopt a prudent military policy and make more contributions to regional peace and stability.

Hua Chunying, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Sept 1